Tracking-based point-of-sale apparatus, system, and method

ABSTRACT

A tracking-based point-of-sales (POS) system includes a first sensing device, a second sensing device, and a processing device. The processing device is configured to perform location tracking with respect to the one or more customers around the product display section based on location information, perform a first operation to determine a purchasing customer who has performed a product displacement activity based on a result of the location tracking, and perform a product registration. The processing device is configured to perform a second operation to determine a product-returning customer who has performed a product placement activity based on a result of the location tracking, and perform a product deregistration. The processing device is configured to, upon the product deregistration causing an anomalous number of product in a purchase list of the product-returning customer, perform an anomaly operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2020-016313, filed on Feb. 3, 2020, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a tracking-basedpoint-of-sale apparatus, tracking-based point-of-sale, tracking-basedpoint-of-sale method.

BACKGROUND

There are various store systems that do not require commodityregistration to be performed at the same time as payment processing.Some such store systems automatically register items being purchased bya consumer based upon behavior of the consumer in the store. One ofthese store systems identifies a consumer near a display shelf whoappears to take an item from the display shelf as a purchaser of theitem. By introducing such a type of store system to a convenience storeor other a small-scale store, it is possible to implement an unmannedstore.

With such a store system, when a commodity is returned to a shelf, theconsumer near the shelf who appears to return the commodity is treatedas a person returning the commodity. However, when multiple consumersare near a display shelf and each remove or return items to the shelf atalmost the same time, there is a possibility of making an error inidentifying which person is actually the person returning an itemcommodity and which is a purchaser. When such an error occurs, there canbe inconsistency between the items actually intended to be purchased bya consumer and the items that are registered as a purchased items forthe consumer. It is desirable that such inconsistency be eliminatedbefore settlement processing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a shelf used in a store systemaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic overhead view of the shelf.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of astore system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a datastructure of a commodity data file.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a datastructure of a tracking file.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a datastructure of a correlation table.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a datastructure of a purchase list.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a shelf control apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a trackingprocessing unit.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a personalauthentication processing unit.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of acommodity monitoring processing unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a behaviormonitoring processing unit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of anintegrated processing unit to which an authentication notificationcommand is inputted.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of theintegrated processing unit to which a hand reaching-out notificationcommand is inputted.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of purchase processing.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of return processing.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of one-personprocessing.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing of aplurality of people.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of theintegrated processing unit to which an exit notification command isinputted.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a salesmanagement apparatus to which a purchase notification command isinputted.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the salesmanagement apparatus to which a return notification command is inputted.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the salesmanagement apparatus to which a temporary return notification command isinputted.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the salesmanagement apparatus to which a settlement permission notificationcommand is inputted.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the salesmanagement apparatus to which a settlement confirmation notificationcommand is inputted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment is directed to providing a point-of-sales system capableof eliminating before settlement processing an inconsistency betweenitems intended to be purchased by a consumer and the items registered asitems being purchased by the consumer.

In general, according to an embodiment, a tracking-based point-of-sales(POS) system includes a first sensing device, a second sensing device,and a processing device. The first sensing device is configured toobtain location information of one or more customers around a productdisplay section associated with a product identified with a product ID.The second sensing device is configured to detect a product displacementactivity and a product placement activity at the product displaysection. The processing device is configured to perform locationtracking with respect to the one or more customers around the productdisplay section based on the obtained location information, upon thesecond sensing device detecting the product displacement activity,perform a first operation to determine a purchasing customer who hasperformed the product displacement activity based on a result of thelocation tracking, and perform a product registration to register theproduct of a first number to a purchase list of the purchasing customer,upon the second sensing device detecting the product placement activity,perform a second operation to determine a product-returning customer whohas performed the product placement activity based on a result of thelocation tracking, and perform a product deregistration to deregisterthe product of a second number from a purchase list of theproduct-returning customer, and upon the product deregistration causingthe number of the product on the purchase list of the product-returningcustomer to be less than zero, perform an anomaly operation.

Hereinafter, an example embodiment of a point-of-sales system will bedescribed with reference to the drawings.

The example embodiment describes a point-of-sales system in a storesystem 100 (refer to FIG. 3) in which a commodity purchased by aconsumer is configured to be automatically registered by using atechnology in which when a commodity is taken from a shelf 10 (refer toFIGS. 1 and 2), a consumer who performs a behavior of taking thecommodity near the shelf 10 is specified as a purchaser of thecommodity.

First, the shelf 10 used in the store system 100 will be described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the shelf 10 when viewed from the front,and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the shelf 10 when viewed from above.As illustrated in FIG. 1, the shelf 10 is a three-stage shelfpartitioned by two shelf plates in a vertical direction. In each stage,two kinds of commodities are divided and displayed in each section. Asan example, a commodity A and a commodity B are displayed side by sidein an upper stage, a commodity C and a commodity D are displayed side byside in a middle stage, and a commodity E and a commodity F aredisplayed side by side in a lower stage. The shelf 10 is an example of acommodity display section or a product display section.

Hereinafter, a section on a left side of the upper stage where thecommodity A is displayed is referred to as a section 201, a section on aright side of the upper stage where the commodity B is displayed isreferred to as a section 202, a section on a left side of the middlestage where the commodity C is displayed is referred to as a section203, a section on a right side of the middle stage where the commodity Dis displayed is referred to as a section 204, a section on a left sideof the lower stage where the commodity E is displayed is referred to asa section 205, and a section on a right side of the lower stage wherethe commodity F is displayed is referred to as a section 206.

A commodity monitoring sensor 1 is mounted on each of the sections 201to 206 on each stage. The commodity monitoring sensor 1 is a sensor formonitoring an increase or a decrease in a weight caused by movement ofthe commodity. In the embodiment, a weight sensor capable of measuring atotal weight of the commodities displayed in the corresponding sections201 to 206 is used as the commodity monitoring sensor 1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, two tracking sensors 21 and 22 and onebehavior monitoring sensor 3 are mounted on an upper portion of theshelf 10. The tracking sensors 21 and 22 are separately mounted on theleft side and the right side of the shelf 10. The behavior monitoringsensor 3 is mounted approximately parallel to a floor surface along awidth direction of the shelf 10 on the front side of the shelf 10.

The tracking sensors 21 and 22 are sensors for tracking a movement of aconsumer staying in a rectangular area 111 surrounded by a firstboundary line virtually drawn by an alternate long and two short dashesline in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, the area 111 is referred to as a trackingarea 111. In the embodiment, camera sensors such as an RGB camera, an IRcamera, and an infrared camera capable of photographing the inside ofthe tracking area 111 are used as the tracking sensors 21 and 22. Thenumber of tracking sensors 21 and 22 is not limited to two.

The behavior monitoring sensor 3 is a sensor for monitoring a behaviorof a consumer with respect to the shelf 10 who stays in a rectangulararea 112 surrounded by a second boundary line 102 virtually drawn by abroken line in FIG. 2. Specifically, the behavior monitoring sensor 3monitors a behavior of the consumer staying in the area 112 and reachingout the hand to the shelf 10 and a behavior of the customer withdrawingthe hand. Hereinafter, a behavior of reaching out the hand is referredto as a hand reaching-out behavior, and a behavior of withdrawing thehand is referred to as a hand returning behavior. The area 112 is anarea estimated for a consumer to be located when the consumer takes outthe commodities A to F from the shelf 10. Hereinafter, the area 112 willbe referred to as a purchase area 112. The purchase area 112 is locatedinside the tracking area 111. In the embodiment, a time of flight (TOF)sensor, and a laser radar are used as the behavior monitoring sensor 3.The number of the behavior monitoring sensors 3 is not limited to one.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, personal authentication devices 41 and42 are mounted on opposite sides of the shelf 10. The personalauthentication devices and 42 are devices for personally authenticatinga consumer. A consumer who uses a store performs member registration inadvance. The member registration can be performed by installing adedicated application program in a user terminal TM (refer to FIG. 3)such as a smartphone and a tablet terminal. By performing the memberregistration, a unique member ID of the consumer is set in the userterminal TM. Hereinafter, the application program is referred to as ashopping application. When the shopping application starts in the userterminal TM in which the member ID is set, a code representing themember ID is displayed on a display of the user terminal TM. The code isrepresented by, for example, a bar code system or a two-dimensional codesystem. The personal authentication devices 41 and 42 includes a readerfor reading the code. The number of personal authentication devices 41and 42 is not limited to two. Installation locations of the personalauthentication devices 41 and 42 are not also limited to the oppositesides of the shelf 10.

In FIG. 2, circular areas 113 and 114 surrounded by a third boundaryline 103 virtually drawn by a broken line are areas assumed to beaccessed by the consumer so that the readers of the personalauthentication devices 41 and 42 can read the code of the member IDdisplayed on the display of the user terminal TM. Hereinafter, the areas113 and 114 are referred to as authentication areas 113 and 114. Theauthentication areas 113 and 114 are located inside the tracking area111.

A fourth boundary line 104 is set between the first boundary line 101and the second boundary line 102. In FIG. 2, the fourth boundary line104 is virtually drawn by an alternate long and short dash line. Thestore system 100 starts tracking when a consumer enters the trackingarea 111. When the consumer enters the inside of the fourth boundaryline 104 from the outside thereof, the store system 100 sets a trackingID for the consumer. When the consumer moves from the inside of thefourth boundary line 104 to the outer side thereof and further moves outof the first boundary line 101, the store system 100 ends the trackingof the consumer.

The first to fourth boundary lines 101 to 104 may not be linear but maybe a band shape with a predetermined width. The tracking area 111 andthe purchase area 112 may be areas having a shape other than arectangle. The authentication areas 113 and 114 may be areas having ashape other than a circle.

The shelf 10 is an example of a commodity display place. The number ofstages of shelves 10 and the number of commodities displayed on therespective stages are freely selected. In other words, it may besufficient that a plurality of sections in which the commodities aredisplayed according to a type of commodity are provided, and thecommodity monitoring sensors 1 are individually provided in thesections. Therefore, the commodity display place is not limited to theshelf, but may be a display stand, a display case, and a display space.

The tracking sensors 21 and 22, the behavior monitoring sensor 3, andthe personal authentication devices 41 and 42 are not necessarilyrequired to be provided on the shelf 10. For example, the trackingsensors 21 and 22 or the behavior monitoring sensor 3 may be provided ona ceiling of a store. The tracking sensors 21 and 22 may be provided ata place where the movement of the consumer staying in the tracking area111 can be tracked. The behavior monitoring sensor 3 may be provided ata place where the behavior of the consumer staying in the purchase area112 with respect to the shelf 10 can be monitored. For example, thepersonal authentication devices 41 and 42 may be provided near anentrance of the store.

Next, a configuration of the store system 100 will be described withreference to FIGS. 3 to 8.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a main part of the store system100. The store system 100 includes a shelf control apparatus 6, a salesmanagement apparatus 7, a member server 8, and a settlement server 9.The store system 100 allows the shelf control apparatus 6, the salesmanagement apparatus 7, the member server 8, and the settlement server 9to be connected to each other by a communication network NW such as alocal area network (LAN). The store system 100 can perform wirelesscommunication with the user terminal TM carried by a consumer who visitsa store via an access point AP of the communication network NW.

The member server 8 manages a member database 81 for storing informationrelated to the consumer who performs the member registration. The memberdatabase 81 stores a name of the consumer, terminal information of theuser terminal TM carried by the consumer, information related tosettlement registered by the consumer, and a valid flag in correlationwith the member ID of each consumer. The terminal information includesinformation such as a communication address necessary for communicatingwith the user terminal TM via the communication network NW. Theinformation related to the settlement includes information necessary forcard settlement using a credit card and an electronic money card, orelectronic settlement using a barcode and a two-dimensional code. Thevalid flag is 1-bit data for indicating whether the member ID is valid.In the embodiment, the valid flag of a valid member ID is set to “1”,and the valid flag of an invalid member ID is set to “0”. For example,the valid flag which is correlated with the member ID of a consumerlosing qualification of a member is set to “0”.

The settlement server 9 is a server for performing settlement processingsuch as the card settlement and the electronic settlement. Thesettlement server 9 may be connected to a point-of-sales (POS) terminal,and may perform the settlement processing via the POS terminal.Well-known processing can be applied as it is for the settlementprocessing. Therefore, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The shelf control apparatus 6 is an example of a control device of thePOS system. The shelf control apparatus 6 includes a commodity data file61.

The commodity data file 61 stores data related to the respectivecommodities A to F displayed on the shelf 10. An example of a datastructure of the commodity data file 61 is illustrated in FIG. 4. Asillustrated in the drawing, the commodity data file 61 stores acommodity name, a unit weight, and a sensor number in correlation withcommodity codes of the respective commodities A to F. The unit weight isa weight per commodity. The sensor number is a number for identifyingthe commodity monitoring sensor 1 respectively provided in the sections201 to 206 of the shelf 10 on which the commodity is displayed. A uniquesensor number is assigned to each commodity monitoring sensor 1. Thedata stored in the commodity data file 61 is not limited to the itemsdescribed above. Data of other items may be stored in the commodity datafile 61.

The shelf control apparatus 6 has functions as a tracking processingunit 62, a personal authentication processing unit 63, a commoditymonitoring processing unit 64, a behavior monitoring processing unit 65,a voice synthesizing unit 66, and an integrated processing unit 67.

The tracking processing unit 62 fetches image data from the trackingsensors 21 and 22. The tracking processing unit 62 analyzes the imagedata and tracks the movement of the consumer staying in the trackingarea 111. The tracking processing unit 62 stores movement data in thetracking file 68 for each consumer.

An example of a data structure of the tracking file 68 is illustrated inFIG. 5. As illustrated in the drawing, the tracking file 68 includes anarea of a tracking ID, an area of movement data 681, and an area of amonitoring flag. The tracking ID is a unique code set by the trackingprocessing unit 62 for identifying a consumer to be tracked. Themovement data 681 describes tracking location information indicating aplace where the consumer to be tracked stays and time at that time intime series. The tracking location information is represented by, forexample, X-Y plane coordinates in which a point at a lower left cornerof the tracking area 111 is set to an origin O (0,0) in FIG. 2. Themonitoring flag is 1-bit data for indicating whether the consumer to betracked moves from the inside of the fourth boundary line 104 to theoutside thereof. In the embodiment, the monitoring flag stored in thetracking file 68 of the consumer who moves from the inside of the fourthboundary line 104 to the outside thereof is set to “1”, and the rest ofmonitoring flags stored in the tracking file 68 is set to “0”.

The personal authentication processing unit 63 fetches the data read bythe readers of the personal authentication devices 41 and 42, andperforms processing related to personal authentication of the consumer.The personal authentication processing unit 63 cooperates with theintegrated processing unit 67 to perform the processing related to thepersonal authentication. The personal authentication processing unit 63outputs an authentication result to the personal authentication devices41 and 42. The personal authentication devices 41 and 42 have a functionof notifying the authentication result. For example, the personalauthentication devices 41 and 42 include a display device, and displaythe authentication result on the display device.

The commodity monitoring processing unit 64 fetches weight data from thecommodity monitoring sensor 1. The commodity monitoring processing unit64 monitors states of the respective commodities A to F displayed on theshelf 10 based upon the weight data. Specifically, when the weight datafrom the commodity monitoring sensor 1 decreases, the commoditymonitoring processing unit 64 recognizes that a commodity is taken fromthe section in which the commodity monitoring sensor 1 is provided. Whenthe weight data from the commodity monitoring sensor 1 increases, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64 recognizes that a commodity isplaced in the section where the commodity monitoring sensor 1 isprovided. A recognition result of the commodity monitoring processingunit 64 is given to the integrated processing unit 67.

The behavior monitoring processing unit 65 fetches an output signal fromthe behavior monitoring sensor 3. The behavior monitoring processingunit 65 monitors a behavior of a purchaser staying in the purchase area112 with respect to the shelf 10 based upon the output signal.Specifically, when the behavior monitoring sensor 3 detects the hand ofthe consumer placed on the shelf 10, the behavior monitoring processingunit 65 recognizes the detection of the hand as the hand reaching-outbehavior, and when the hand is not detected, the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65 recognizes the hand returning behavior. A recognitionresult of the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 is given to theintegrated processing unit 67. Here, behavior location information of alocation where the behavior monitoring sensor 3 detects the hand is alsogiven to the integrated processing unit 67. The behavior locationinformation is represented by an X coordinate indicating a distance fromthe origin O of the above-described X-Y plane coordinates and a Zcoordinate indicating a height from a floor surface.

The voice synthesizing unit 66 is connected to a speaker 5. The voicesynthesizing unit 66 synthesizes voice data under the control of theintegrated processing unit 67, and outputs the synthesized voice data tothe speaker 5. Accordingly, the speaker 5 emits a voice message or thelike. The speaker 5 is installed near the shelf 10. The speaker 5 may beinstalled in, for example, a standby place of a clerk. Alternatively,the speaker 5 may be built in a terminal carried by the clerk, and thevoice synthesized by the voice synthesizing unit 66 may be emitted fromthe speaker 5. Here, the voice data synthesized by the voicesynthesizing unit 66 is transmitted to the access point AP via thecommunication network NW, and further transmitted to the portableterminal of the clerk via wireless communication.

The integrated processing unit 67 performs data processing necessary forthe store system 100 in cooperation with the commodity data file 61, thetracking processing unit 62, the personal authentication processing unit63, the commodity monitoring processing unit 64, the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65, and the voice synthesizing unit 66. As one of thedata processing, there is processing of correlating a consumer whoseauthentication is successful in the personal authentication processingunit 63 with a consumer whose movement is tracked in the trackingprocessing unit 62. The integrated processing unit 67 includes acorrelation table 69 as a data table to be used in the processing.

An example of a data structure of the correlation table 69 isillustrated in FIG. 6. As illustrated in the drawing, the correlationtable 69 includes an area for storing the member ID of a consumer andthe tracking ID set for the consumer in correlation with each other.

In one of the data processing executed by the integrated processing unit67, there is processing of specifying the behavior of the consumer withrespect to the commodity based upon a tracking result of the trackingprocessing unit 62 and a monitoring result of the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65. The integrated processing unit 67 outputs a purchasenotification command or a return notification command to the salesmanagement apparatus 7 based upon the behavior of the consumer specifiedin the processing. The purchase notification command and the returnnotification command will be clarified in an operation which will bedescribed later.

The sales management apparatus 7 includes a purchase list 71. Thepurchase list 71 is generated for each consumer. FIG. 7 illustrates anexample of a data structure of the purchase list 71. As illustrated inthe drawing, the purchase list 71 stores purchased commodity data of aconsumer in correlation with the member ID of the consumer. Thepurchased commodity data includes each item of a commodity code, acommodity name, a unit price, a number, an amount of money, a temporaryregistration flag, and another member ID. The amount of money iscalculated by multiplying the unit price and the number of commodities.The purchased commodity data may include an item other than theabove-described items.

When receiving the purchase notification command, the sales managementapparatus 7 registers the purchased commodity data in the purchase list71. When receiving the return notification command, the sales managementapparatus 7 corrects the corresponding purchased commodity data.

The temporary registration flag is 1-bit data for indicating whether thecorresponding purchased commodity data is temporary registration data.In the embodiment, the temporary registration flag with respect to thetemporary registration data is set to “1”, and the temporaryregistration flag with respect to non-temporary registration data, thatis, main registration data is set to “0”. When the correspondingpurchased commodity data is temporarily registered, the member ID ofanother related consumer is added to the purchase list 71 as the anothermember ID. The temporary registration flag may be referred to as atemporary deregistration flag.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theshelf control apparatus 6. The shelf control apparatus 6 includes aprocessor 601, a main memory 602, an auxiliary storage device 603, aclock 604, a communication interface 605, an I/O interface 606, and asystem transmission line 607. The processor 601, the main memory 602,the auxiliary storage device 603, the clock 604, the communicationinterface 605, and the I/O interface 606 are respectively connected tothe system transmission line 607. The system transmission line 607includes an address bus, a data bus, and a control signal line. In theshelf control apparatus 6, the processor 601, the main memory 602, andthe auxiliary storage device 603 are connected by the systemtransmission line 607, and a computer for controlling the shelf controlapparatus 6 is configured.

The processor 601 corresponds to a central portion of the computer. Theprocessor 601 controls each unit to perform various functions as theshelf control apparatus 6 according to an operating system or anapplication program. The processor 601 is, for example, a centralprocessing unit (CPU).

The main memory 602 corresponds to a main storage portion of thecomputer. The main memory 602 includes a non-volatile memory area and avolatile memory area. The main memory 602 stores the operating system orthe application program in the non-volatile memory area. The main memory602 stores data necessary for the processor 601 to execute processingfor controlling each unit in the volatile memory area. The main memory602 uses the volatile memory area as a work area in which the data isappropriately rewritten by the processor 601. The non-volatile memoryarea is, for example, a read only memory (ROM). The volatile memory areais, for example, a random access memory (RAM).

The auxiliary storage device 603 corresponds to an auxiliary storageportion of the computer. As the auxiliary storage device 603, forexample, well-known storage devices such as an electric erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), a hard disc drive (HDD) or asolid state drive (SSD) are used independently or in combination. Theauxiliary storage device 603 stores data to be used for the processor601 to perform various processing and data generated by the processingof the processor 601. The auxiliary storage device 603 may store theapplication program.

The main memory 602 or the auxiliary storage device 603 is used as astorage area for the tracking file 68, the correlation table 69, and thecommodity data file 61 described above.

The clock 604 functions as a time information source of the shelfcontrol apparatus 6. The processor 601 tracks current date and timebased upon time information tracked by the clock 604.

The communication interface 605 is a circuit for performing datacommunication with other devices connected via the communication networkNW. Other devices include the sales management apparatus 7, the memberserver 8, the settlement server 9.

The I/O interface 606 is a circuit for transmitting and receiving a datasignal between the commodity monitoring sensor 1, the tracking sensors21 and 22, the behavior monitoring sensor 3, the personal authenticationdevices 41 and 42, and the speaker 5 described above.

The shelf control apparatus 6 having the above-described configurationis provided, for example, on an upper surface or a back surface of theshelf 10. The shelf control apparatus 6 is connected to thecommunication network NW by wire communication or wirelesscommunication.

A computer mainly formed of the processor 601 performs data processingaccording to a control program installed in the main memory 602 or theauxiliary storage device 603, thereby performing the functions of thetracking processing unit 62, the personal authentication processing unit63, the commodity monitoring processing unit 64, the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65, the voice synthesizing unit 66, and the integratedprocessing unit 67. Next, with reference to flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 9 to 24, main operations of the tracking processing unit 62, thepersonal authentication processing unit 63, the commodity monitoringprocessing unit 64, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65, thevoice synthesizing unit 66, and the integrated processing unit 67 willbe described. The function of each unit will be clarified by thedescription of the operations. The following description is an example.When the same result is obtained, the procedure is not particularlylimited.

A method of installing the control program in the main memory 602 or theauxiliary storage device 603 is not particularly limited. The controlprogram is recorded on a removable recording medium or the controlprogram is distributed by communication via a network, thereby making itpossible to install the control program in the main memory 602 or theauxiliary storage device 603. The recording medium may have anyapplicable form as long as a medium such as a CD-ROM and a memory cardin which a program can be stored is provided, and the medium can be readby an apparatus.

First, an operation of the tracking processing unit 62 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 9.

The tracking processing unit 62 waits for a person to enter the trackingarea 111 across the first boundary line 101 as ACT 101. Here, not only aconsumer but also a person related to a store such as a clerk can beconsidered as the person who enters the tracking area 111. However,here, for convenience of description, the person is limited to theconsumer. Therefore, hereinafter, the person is referred to as theconsumer.

When detecting that the consumer enters the tracking area 111 based uponthe image data fetched from the tracking sensors 21 and 22, the trackingprocessing unit 62 determines YES in ACT 101, and proceeds to ACT 102.The tracking processing unit 62 starts tracking of the consumer as ACT102. Hereinafter, the tracked consumer will be referred to as a consumerSA.

The tracking processing unit 62 determines whether the consumer SAenters the tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104 acrossthe fourth boundary line 104 as ACT 103. When the consumer SA does notenter the tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104, thetracking processing unit 62 determines NO in ACT 103, and proceeds toACT 104. The tracking processing unit 62 determines whether the consumerSA exits from the tracking area 111 across the first boundary line 101as ACT 104. When the consumer SA does not exit from the tracking area111, the tracking processing unit 62 determines NO in ACT 104, andreturns to ACT 103. Here, in ACT 103 and ACT 104, the trackingprocessing unit 62 waits for the consumer SA to enter the tracking area111 inside the fourth boundary line 104 or exit from the tracking area111.

When the consumer SA exits from the tracking area 111 without enteringthe tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104 in a standbystate of ACT 103 and ACT 104, the tracking processing unit 62 determinesYES in ACT 104, and proceeds to ACT 105. The tracking processing unit 62ends the tracking of the consumer SA as ACT 105. Therefore, the trackingprocessing unit 62 ends the operation of the procedure illustrated in aflowchart of FIG. 9.

In the standby state of ACT 103 and ACT 104, when the consumer SA entersthe tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104, the trackingprocessing unit 62 determines YES in ACT 103, and proceeds to ACT 106.The tracking processing unit 62 assigns a unique tracking ID to theconsumer SA as ACT 106. Next, the tracking processing unit 62 generatesthe tracking file 68 in which the tracking ID is described as ACT 107.Here, the tracking processing unit 62 sets the monitoring flag to “0”.Hereinafter, the tracking file 68 in which the tracking ID of theconsumer SA is described is referred to as a tracking file 680.

The tracking processing unit 62 acquires time tracked by the clock 604as ACT 108. The tracking processing unit 62 acquires tracking locationinformation at this time of the consumer SA as ACT 109. The trackingprocessing unit 62 stores movement data in which the tracked time andthe tracking location information are correlated with each other in thetracking file 680 as ACT 110.

The tracking processing unit 62 checks the monitoring flag of thetracking file 680 as ACT 111. Here, the monitoring flag is “0”.Therefore, the tracking processing unit 62 determines NO in ACT 111, andproceeds to ACT 112. The tracking processing unit 62 determines whetherthe consumer SA exits to the tracking area 111 outside the fourthboundary line 104 across the fourth boundary line 104 as ACT 112. Whenthe consumer SA does not exit to the tracking area 111 outside thefourth boundary line 104, the tracking processing unit 62 determines NOin ACT 112, and returns to ACT 108. Next, the tracking processing unit62 executes the processing after ACT 108 in the same manner as above.That is, the tracking processing unit 62 stores, in the tracking file680, the movement data including the time tracked by the clock 604 andthe tracking location information of the consumer SA at that time.

The tracking processing unit 62 repeatedly executes the processing ofstoring the movement data in the tracking file 680 until the consumer SAexits to the tracking area 111 outside the fourth boundary line 104.When the consumer SA exits to the tracking area 111 outside the fourthboundary line 104, the tracking processing unit 62 determines YES in ACT112, and proceeds to ACT 113. The tracking processing unit 62 changesthe monitoring flag of the tracking file 680 to “1” as ACT 113. Next,the tracking processing unit 62 returns to ACT 108 and executes theprocessing after ACT 108 again. Here, the monitoring flag is Therefore,the tracking processing unit 62 determines YES in ACT 111, and proceedsto ACT 114.

The tracking processing unit 62 determines whether the consumer SA exitsto the outside of the tracking area 111 as ACT 114. When the consumer SAdoes not exit to the outside of the tracking area 111, the trackingprocessing unit 62 determines NO in ACT 114, and proceeds to ACT 115.The tracking processing unit 62 determines whether the consumer SAreturns to the tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104across the fourth boundary line 104 again as ACT 115. When the consumerSA does not return to the tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundaryline 104, the tracking processing unit 62 determines NO in ACT 115, andreturns to ACT 114. Here, the tracking processing unit 62 waits for theconsumer SA to exit to the outside of the tracking area 111 or return tothe tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104 in ACT 114 andACT 115.

In a standby state of ACT 114 and ACT 115, when the consumer SA returnsto the tracking area 111 inside the fourth boundary line 104, thetracking processing unit 62 determines YES in ACT 115, and proceeds toACT 116. The tracking processing unit 62 changes the monitoring flag ofthe tracking file 680 to “0” as ACT 116. Next, the tracking processingunit 62 returns to the processing of ACT 108. Therefore, the trackingprocessing unit 62 repeatedly executes the processing of ACT 108 to ACT112 until the consumer SA exits to the tracking area 111 outside thefourth boundary line 104 again.

In the standby state of ACT 114 and ACT 115, when the consumer SA exitsto the outside of the tracking area 111, the tracking processing unit 62determines YES in ACT 114, and proceeds to ACT 117. The trackingprocessing unit 62 ends the tracking of the consumer SA as ACT 117. Thetracking processing unit 62 outputs an exit notification command to theintegrated processing unit 67 as ACT 118. The exit notification commandincludes the member ID of the tracking file 680. Next, the trackingprocessing unit 62 ends the operation of the procedure illustrated inthe flowchart of FIG. 9.

As described above, when the consumer SA enters the inside of the fourthboundary line 104 of the tracking area 111, the tracking processing unit62 assigns a unique tracking ID to the consumer SA. Next, the trackingprocessing unit 62 generates the tracking file 680 in which the uniquetracking ID is described.

The tracking processing unit 62 starts tracking of the consumer SA. Thetracking processing unit 62 continues the tracking thereof until theconsumer SA exits to the outside of the tracking area 111. When theconsumer SA exits to the outside of the tracking area 111, the trackingprocessing unit 62 ends the tracking of the consumer. Meanwhile, thetracking processing unit 62 stores the movement data of the consumer SAin the tracking file 680. When the consumer SA exits to the outside ofthe tracking area 111, the tracking processing unit 62 outputs the exitnotification command to the integrated processing unit 67. An operationof the integrated processing unit 67 to which the exit notificationcommand is inputted will be described later with reference to FIG. 19.

Next, an operation of the personal authentication processing unit 63will be described with reference to FIG. 10.

The personal authentication processing unit 63 waits for data for thepersonal authentication to be read by the readers of the personalauthentication devices 41 and 42 as ACT 201.

The consumer SA is required to receive the personal authentication as amember before purchasing a commodity. Therefore, the consumer SA startsthe shopping application installed in the user terminal TM. When theshopping application starts, the code of the member ID is displayed onthe display of the user terminal TM. Next, the consumer SA causes thereader of any one of the personal authentication devices 41 and 42 toread the code. Next, data indicated by the code is outputted from thepersonal authentication devices 41 and 42 to the personal authenticationprocessing unit 63. A device ID for identifying the personalauthentication devices 41 and 42 is added to the data.

When the data is inputted to the personal authentication processing unit63 from the personal authentication devices 41 and 42, the personalauthentication processing unit 63 determines whether the inputted datais data representing the code of the member ID. In the case of the datarepresenting the code of the member ID, the personal authenticationprocessing unit 63 determines YES in ACT 201, and proceeds to ACT 202.The personal authentication processing unit 63 acquires the device IDadded to the data as ACT 202. The personal authentication processingunit 63 acquires the member ID from the data as ACT 203. The personalauthentication processing unit 63 outputs an authentication notificationcommand to the integrated processing unit 67 as ACT 204. Theauthentication notification command includes the device ID acquired inthe processing of ACT 202 and the member ID acquired in the processingof ACT 203.

Here, an operation of the integrated processing unit to which theauthentication notification command is inputted will be described withreference to FIG. 13.

The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the device ID from theauthentication notification command as ACT 501. Next, the integratedprocessing unit 67 selects the authentication areas 113 and 114specified by the device ID as ACT 502. For example, when the device IDbelongs to the personal authentication device 41, the integratedprocessing unit 67 selects the authentication area 113. For example,when the device ID belongs the personal authentication device 42, theintegrated processing unit 67 selects the authentication area 114. Here,on the assumption that the authentication area 113 is selected as anexample, the operation of the integrated processing unit 67 will becontinuously described.

The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the number of consumersstaying in the authentication area 113 as ACT 503. Specifically, theintegrated processing unit 67 cooperates with the tracking processingunit 62, and retrieves the tracking file 68 that stores the movementdata in which the tracking location information corresponding to thetime when the authentication notification command is outputted matchesthe authentication location information with respect to theauthentication area 113. The number of corresponding tracking files 68becomes the number of consumers staying in the authentication area 113.The authentication location information is an aggregate of X-Y planecoordinates in the authentication area 113. The authentication locationinformation with respect to the authentication area 113 is set in theauxiliary storage device 603 in advance.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number ofconsumers staying in the authentication area 113 is one as ACT 504. Whenthe number of consumers is one, that is, when only the consumer SA staysin the authentication area 113, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 504, and proceeds to ACT 505. The integratedprocessing unit 67 acquires the member ID from the authenticationnotification command as ACT 505. Next, the integrated processing unit 67transmits an authentication request command to the member server 8. Theauthentication request command includes the member ID acquired in theprocessing of ACT 505, that is, the member ID of the consumer SA.

The member server 8 determines validity of the member ID. Specifically,the member server 8 retrieves the member database 81 with the member IDincluded in the authentication request command. As a result, when thevalid flag corresponding to the member ID is “1”, the member server 8determines that the member ID is valid. When the valid flagcorresponding to the member ID is “0”, the member server 8 determinesthat the member ID is invalid. The member server 8 returns a validitydetermination result of the member ID to the integrated processing unit67.

The integrated processing unit 67 confirms the validity of the member IDas ACT 507. When the member server 8 determines that the member ID isvalid, the integrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 507, andproceeds to ACT 508. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires thetracking ID from the tracking file 680 of the consumer SA staying in theauthentication area 113 as ACT 508. That is, the integrated processingunit 67 acquires the tracking ID from the tracking file 68 that storesthe movement data in which the tracking location informationcorresponding to the time when the authentication notification commandis outputted matches the authentication location information withrespect to the authentication area 113. Next, as ACT 509, the integratedprocessing unit 67 stores the tracking ID acquired in the processing ofACT 508 and the member ID acquired in the processing of ACT 505 incorrelation with each other in the correlation table 69.

The integrated processing unit 67 instructs the sales managementapparatus 7 to generate the purchase list 71 as ACT 510. According tothe instruction, in the sales management apparatus 7, the purchase list71 identified by the member ID acquired in the processing of ACT 505 isgenerated. Hereinafter, the purchase list 71 identified by the member IDof the consumer SA will be referred to as a purchase list 711.

The integrated processing unit 67 outputs a permission response commandto the personal authentication processing unit 63 as ACT 511.

On the other hand, in ACT 504, when there is no consumer staying in theauthentication area 113, or when there are two or more consumers stayingtherein, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO, and proceedsto ACT 512. Even when it is determined that the member is not a validmember in ACT 507, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO, andproceeds to ACT 512. The integrated processing unit 67 outputs an errorresponse command to the personal authentication processing unit 63 asACT 512.

When outputting the permission response command or the error responsecommand to the personal authentication processing unit 63, theintegrated processing unit 67 ends the operation of the procedureillustrated in a flowchart of FIG. 13.

Referring back to the description of FIG. 10, the personalauthentication processing unit 63 that outputs the authenticationnotification command in ACT 204 waits for a response command from theintegrated processing unit 67 as ACT 205. Here, when the permissionresponse command is inputted, the personal authentication processingunit 63 determines YES in ACT 205, and proceeds to ACT 206. As ACT 206,the personal authentication processing unit 63 controls the personalauthentication device 41 so that the personal authentication device 41in the authentication area 113 notifies that the authentication issuccessful. Therefore, for example, a message that “authentication issuccessful. Please start shopping” is displayed on the display device ofthe personal authentication device 41.

On the other hand, when the error response command is inputted, thepersonal authentication processing unit 63 determines NO in ACT 205, andproceeds to ACT 207. As ACT 207, the personal authentication processingunit 63 controls the personal authentication device 41 so that thepersonal authentication device 41 in the authentication area 113notifies that the authentication fails. Therefore, for example, amessage that “authentication fails” is displayed on the display deviceof the personal authentication device 41. As described above, thepersonal authentication processing unit 63 ends the operation of theprocedure illustrated in a flowchart of FIG. 10.

Thus, for example, when the consumer SA enters the authentication area113 and causes the reader of the personal authentication device 41 toread the member ID, the personal authentication processing unit 63outputs the authentication notification command to the integratedprocessing unit 67. In response to the authentication notificationcommand, the integrated processing unit 67 acquires the number ofconsumers staying in the authentication area 113. When the number ofpersons is one, the integrated processing unit 67 cooperates with themember server 8 to determine the validity of the member ID. When thevalidity of the member ID is approved, the integrated processing unit 67outputs the permission response command to the personal authenticationprocessing unit 63. The personal authentication processing unit 63 towhich the permission response command is inputted notifies the successof the authentication via the personal authentication device 41.

On the other hand, when the validity of the member ID is not approved,the integrated processing unit 67 outputs the error response command tothe personal authentication processing unit 63. In response to the errorresponse command, the personal authentication processing unit 63notifies authentication failure via the personal authentication device41.

The integrated processing unit 67 does not determine the validity of themember ID when the number of consumers staying in the authenticationarea 113 is not one. Even here, the integrated processing unit 67outputs the error response command to the personal authenticationprocessing unit 63. In response to the error response command, thepersonal authentication processing unit 63 notifies the authenticationfailure via the personal authentication device 41.

For example, when only the consumer SA stays in the authentication area113, the consumer who can cause the reader of the personalauthentication device 41 to read the member ID is limited to theconsumer SA. Therefore, the member ID read by the reader and thetracking ID assigned to the consumer SA can be correlated with eachother. On the other hand, when another consumer SB other than theconsumer SA stays in the authentication area 113, the consumer who cancause the reader of the personal authentication device 41 to read themember ID is not limited to the consumer SA. The consumer SB can alsocause the reader thereof to read the member ID. Therefore, theintegrated processing unit 67 does not determine the validity of themember ID when the number of consumers staying in the authenticationarea 113 is not one. As a result, the member ID and the tracking ID arenot erroneously correlated with each other.

The consumer SA who succeeds in the personal authentication by themember ID can purchase the commodities A to F displayed on the shelf 10.For example, when purchasing the commodity A displayed in the section201 of the shelf 10, the consumer SA takes out the commodity A from thesection 201. Hereinafter, such behavior of the consumer SA is referredto as a purchase behavior. When canceling the purchase of the commodityA previously taken therefrom, the consumer SA returns the commodity A tothe original section 201. Hereinafter, such behavior of the consumer SAis referred to as a return behavior. With respect to the purchasebehavior or the return behavior, the commodity monitoring processingunit 64, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65, and the integratedprocessing unit 67 operate in cooperation with each other, such that theshelf control apparatus 6 can register the purchased commodity data ofthe consumer SA in the purchase list 711.

Therefore, first, an operation of the commodity monitoring processingunit 64 will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

In the purchase behavior, it is prohibited for the consumer SA to takeout commodities of a plurality of items at the same time. In the returnbehavior, it is also prohibited for the consumer SA to take out acommodity or another commodity without withdrawing the hand with whichthe commodity is returned. Meanwhile, the consumer SA is allowed to takeout and return a plurality of commodities of one item at the same time.

The commodity monitoring processing unit 64 waits for a weight changedetected by the commodity monitoring sensor 1 as ACT 301. For example,when the consumer SA performs the purchase behavior with respect to thecommodity A, the commodity monitoring sensor 1 in the section 201detects a weight change in a decreasing direction. For example, when theconsumer SA performs the return behavior with respect to the commodityA, the commodity monitoring sensor 1 in the section 201 detects a weightchange in an increasing direction.

When the commodity monitoring sensor 1 detects the weight change, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64 determines YES in ACT 301, andproceeds to ACT 302. The commodity monitoring processing unit 64acquires a sensor number of the commodity monitoring sensor 1 thatdetects the weight change as ACT 302. Here, the commodity monitoringprocessing unit 64 acquires the sensor number of the commoditymonitoring sensor 1 provided in the section 201, for example, “001”.

As ACT 303, the commodity monitoring processing unit determines whetherthe commodity monitoring sensor 1 detects the weight change in thedecreasing direction or the weight change in the increasing direction.When detecting the weight change in the decreasing direction, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64 determines YES in ACT 304, andproceeds to ACT 305. The commodity monitoring processing unit 64 outputsa decrease notification command to the integrated processing unit 67 asACT 305.

When detecting the weight change in the increasing direction, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64 determines NO in ACT 304, andproceeds to ACT 306. The commodity monitoring processing unit 64 outputsan increase notification command to the integrated processing unit 67 asACT 306.

The decrease notification command or the increase notification commandincludes the sensor number acquired in the processing of ACT 302 and theweight change amount calculated in the processing of ACT 303. Asdescribed above, the commodity monitoring processing unit 64 ends theoperation of the procedure illustrated in a flowchart of FIG. 11.

Next, an operation of the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 12.

The behavior monitoring processing unit 65 waits for the hand of theconsumer SA to be detected by the behavior monitoring sensor 3 as ACT401. When the consumer SA in the purchase area 112 reaches out the handto the shelf 10, the behavior monitoring sensor 3 detects the hand. Whenthe hand is detected, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65determines YES in ACT 401, and proceeds to ACT 402. The behaviormonitoring processing unit 65 acquires behavior location information ofa location where the hand of the consumer SA is detected as ACT 402. Thebehavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputs a hand reaching-outnotification command to the integrated processing unit 67 as ACT 403.The hand reaching-out notification command includes the behaviorlocation information acquired in the processing of ACT 402.

The behavior monitoring processing unit 65 waits for the hand of theconsumer SA to be undetected as ACT 404. When the behavior monitoringsensor 3 does not detect the hand of the consumer SA, the behaviormonitoring processing unit 65 determines YES in ACT 404, and proceeds toACT 405. The behavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputs a handreturning notification command to the integrated processing unit 67 asACT 405. The hand returning notification command also includes thebehavior location information acquired in the processing of ACT 402.

As described, when the consumer SA reaches out the hand to the shelf 10to take out the commodity A from the section 201, the behaviormonitoring sensor 3 first detects the hand of the consumer SA. By thedetection of the hand, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65outputs the hand reaching-out notification command to the integratedprocessing unit 67. The hand reaching-out notification command includesthe behavior location information indicating the location where the handof the consumer SA is detected.

Next, when the consumer SA lifts only one commodity A from the section201, the commodity monitoring sensor 1 in the section 201 detects theweight change in the decreasing direction. By the weight change, thedecrease notification command is outputted from the commodity monitoringprocessing unit 64 to the integrated processing unit 67. The decreasenotification command includes the sensor number of the commoditymonitoring sensor 1 that detects the weight change and the weight changeamount. The weight change amount matches a unit weight of the commodityA. Meanwhile, when the consumer SA lifts two commodities A together fromthe section 201, the weight change amount is equal to twice the unitweight of the commodity A.

Next, when the consumer SA withdraws the hand holding the commodity Afrom the shelf 10, the hand of the consumer SA detected by the behaviormonitoring sensor 3 becomes not detected. When the hand is not detected,the hand returning notification command is outputted from the behaviormonitoring processing unit 65 to the integrated processing unit 67. Thehand returning notification command also includes the behavior locationinformation indicating the location where the hand of the consumer SA isdetected.

On the other hand, even when the consumer SA holds the commodity A andreaches out the hand to the shelf 10 in order to cancel the purchase ofthe commodity A, first, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65outputs the hand reaching-out notification command to the integratedprocessing unit 67.

Next, when the consumer SA returns the commodity A to the section 201,the commodity monitoring sensor 1 in the section 201 detects the weightchange in the increasing direction. By the weight change, the commoditymonitoring processing unit 64 outputs the increase notification commandto the integrated processing unit 67. The increase notification commandincludes the sensor number of the commodity monitoring sensor 1 thatdetects the weight change and the weight change amount. The weightchange amount matches the unit weight of the commodity A. Meanwhile,when the consumer SA collectively returns two commodities A to thesection 201, the weight change amount is equal to twice the unit weightof the commodity A.

After that, when the consumer SA withdraws the hand from the shelf 10,the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputs the hand returningnotification command to the integrated processing unit 67.

As described above, with respect to the purchase behavior of theconsumer SA, first, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputsthe hand reaching-out notification command to the integrated processingunit 67. Next, the commodity monitoring processing unit 64 outputs thedecrease notification command to the integrated processing unit 67.After that, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputs the handreturning notification command to the integrated processing unit 67.

When the consumer SA withdraws the hand without taking up the commodity,the decrease notification command is not outputted. That is, the handreaching-out notification command is outputted, and then the handreturning notification command is outputted.

On the other hand, with respect to the return behavior of the consumerSA, first, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputs the handreaching-out notification command to the integrated processing unit 67.Next, the commodity monitoring processing unit 64 outputs the increasenotification command to the integrated processing unit 67. After that,the behavior monitoring processing unit 65 outputs the hand returningnotification command to the integrated processing unit 67.

When the consumer SA withdraws the hand without returning the commodityto the shelf 10, the increase notification command is not outputted.That is, the hand reaching-out notification command is outputted, andthen the hand returning notification command is outputted.

In the purchase behavior, when the consumer SA returns a commodity tothe shelf 10 without withdrawing the hand that lifts the commodity, thebehavior monitoring processing unit 65 and the commodity monitoringprocessing unit 64 output various commands to the integrated processingunit 67 in the following order. First, the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65 outputs the hand reaching-out notification command tothe integrated processing unit 67. Next, the commodity monitoringprocessing unit 64 outputs the decrease notification command to theintegrated processing unit 67. Next, the commodity monitoring processingunit 64 outputs the increase notification command to the integratedprocessing unit 67. After that, the behavior monitoring processing unit65 outputs the hand returning notification command to the integratedprocessing unit 67. When the consumer SA returns the commodity to thesame section, the sensor numbers included in the decrease notificationcommand and the increase notification command match each other. However,when the consumer SA returns the commodity to another section, thesensor numbers included in the decrease notification command and theincrease notification command are different from each other.

As described above, with respect to the purchase behavior or the returnbehavior of the consumer, the behavior monitoring processing unit 65should output the hand reaching-out notification command to theintegrated processing unit 67. Here, an operation of the integratedprocessing unit 67 to which the hand reaching-out notification commandis inputted will be described with reference to FIG. 14.

The integrated processing unit 67 acquires behavior location informationfrom the hand reaching-out notification command as ACT 521. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 stores the acquired behavior locationinformation as ACT 522. A storage destination of the behavior locationinformation is, for example, the main memory 602. The storagedestination of the behavior location information may be the auxiliarystorage device 603.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the decreasenotification command is inputted as ACT 523. When the decreasenotification command is not inputted, the integrated processing unit 67determines NO in ACT 523, and proceeds to ACT 524. The integratedprocessing unit 67 determines whether the increase notification commandis inputted as ACT 524. When the increase notification command is notinputted, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 524,and proceeds to ACT 525. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the hand returning notification command is inputted as ACT 525.When the hand returning notification command is not inputted, theintegrated processing unit 67 returns to ACT 523. Here, the integratedprocessing unit 67 waits for the decrease notification command, theincrease notification command, or the hand returning notificationcommand to be inputted as ACT 523 to ACT 525.

In a standby state of ACT 523 to ACT 525, when the hand returningnotification command is inputted, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 525, and proceeds to ACT 526. The integratedprocessing unit 67 clears the behavior location information as ACT 526.Next, the integrated processing unit 67 ends the operation of theprocedure illustrated in a flowchart of FIG. 14.

As such, when the hand reaching-out notification command is inputted butthe hand returning notification command is inputted while the decreasenotification command or the increase notification command is notinputted, the integrated processing unit 67 does not execute any specialprocessing. That is, when the consumer SA who performs the purchasebehavior withdraws the hand without taking up the commodity, or, whenthe consumer SA who performs the return behavior withdraws the handwithout returning the commodity, the integrated processing unit 67 doesnot execute any special processing.

In the standby state of ACT 523 to ACT 525, when the decreasenotification command is inputted, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 523, and proceeds to ACT 527. The integratedprocessing unit 67 determines whether the increase notification commandis inputted as ACT 527. When the increase notification command is notinputted, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 527,and proceeds to ACT 528. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the hand returning notification command is inputted as ACT 528.When the return notification command is not inputted, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 528, and returns to ACT 527.Here, the integrated processing unit 67 waits for the increasenotification command or the hand returning notification command to beinputted as ACT 527 and ACT 528.

In a standby state of ACT 527 and ACT 528, when the increasenotification command is inputted, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 527, and returns to ACT 523. That is, theintegrated processing unit 67 returns to the standby state of ACT 523 toACT 525.

In the standby state of ACT 527 and ACT 528, when the hand returningnotification command is inputted, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 528, and proceeds to ACT 529. The integratedprocessing unit 67 executes purchase processing as ACT 529. Details ofthe purchase processing will be described later. When the purchaseprocessing is ended, the integrated processing unit 67 ends theoperation of the procedure illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 14.

As such, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the purchaseprocessing when the decrease notification command is inputted after thehand reaching-out notification command is inputted, and continuously thehand returning notification command is inputted. That is, when theconsumer SA performs the purchase behavior, the integrated processingunit 67 executes the purchase processing.

The integrated processing unit 67 does not execute any specialprocessing when the decrease notification command is inputted after thehand reaching-out notification command is inputted, and further the handreturning notification command is inputted after the increasenotification command is inputted. That is, when the consumer SAimmediately returns the commodity once held by the hand of the customerSA and withdraws the hand, the integrated processing unit 67 does notexecute any special processing.

In the standby state of ACT 523 to ACT 525, when the increasenotification command is inputted, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 524, and proceeds to ACT 530. The integratedprocessing unit 67 waits for the hand returning notification command asACT 530. When the hand returning notification command is inputted, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 530, and proceeds toACT 531. The integrated processing unit 67 executes return processing asACT 531. Details of the return processing will be described later. Whenthe return processing is ended, the integrated processing unit 67 endsthe operation of the procedure illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 14.

As such, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the returnprocessing when the increase notification command is inputted after thehand reaching-out notification command is inputted, and continuously thehand returning notification command is inputted. That is, when theconsumer SA performs the return behavior, the integrated processing unit67 executes the return processing.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a main part of thepurchase processing. When the purchase processing is started, theintegrated processing unit 67 counts the number M of consumers stayingin the purchase area 112 as ACT 541. Specifically, the integratedprocessing unit 67 counts the number of tracking files 68 in which thetracking location information of the movement data corresponding to thecurrent time in the tracking file stored in the tracking processing unit62 matches purchase location information with respect to the purchasearea 112. The number of corresponding tracking files 68 becomes thenumber M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112. The purchaselocation information is an aggregate of X-Y plane coordinates in thepurchase area 112. The purchase location information with respect to thepurchase area 112 is set in the auxiliary storage device 603 in advance.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number M ofconsumers staying in the purchase area 112 is 0 as ACT 542. When thenumber of persons M is 0, there is a possibility that a consumer whocannot be tracked by the tracking processing unit 62 takes out thecommodity from the shelf 10. Here, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 542, and proceeds to ACT 543. The integratedprocessing unit 67 outputs voice data for a tracking error to the voicesynthesizing unit 66 as ACT 543. Accordingly, the voice synthesizingunit 66 synthesizes a voice message indicating the tracking error. Next,the speaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice message such as “an erroroccurred and shopping cannot be performed”. Next, the integratedprocessing unit 67 ends the purchase processing.

When the number M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112 is not0, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 542, andproceeds to ACT 544. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the number M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112 is 1as ACT 544. When there is only one tracking file 68 in which thetracking location information of the movement data corresponding to thecurrent time matches the purchase location information, the number M ofconsumers becomes one. Hereinafter, the tracking file 68 will bereferred to as a target tracking file 68. For example, when there isonly one consumer SA in the purchase area 112, the tracking file 680becomes the target tracking file 680.

When the number M of consumers in the purchase area 112 is 1, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 544, and proceeds toACT 545. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the trackinglocation information of the movement data corresponding to the currenttime from the target tracking file 680 as ACT 545.

As ACT 546, based upon the tracking location information and thebehavior location information stored in the processing of ACT 522 inFIG. 14, the integrated processing unit 67 determines whether thepurchase behavior by the consumer SA who is being tracked by thetracking ID described in the target tracking file 680 can be performed.Specifically, the integrated processing unit 67 determines whether theconsumer SA at a location specified by the tracking location informationcould perform a behavior of reaching out the hand and taking thecommodity from a location specified by the behavior locationinformation. When the taking of the commodity cannot be performed, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines that the purchase behaviorcannot be performed. The integrated processing unit 67 determines NO inACT 546, and proceeds to ACT 543. The integrated processing unit 67outputs the voice data for the tracking error to the voice synthesizingunit 66 as ACT 543. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 ends thepurchase processing.

When the purchase behavior can be performed, the integrated processingunit 67 determines YES in ACT 546, and proceeds to ACT 547. Theintegrated processing unit 67 acquires the tracking ID from the targettracking file 680 as ACT 547.

Next, the integrated processing unit 67 retrieves the correlation table69 as ACT 548 and determines whether the tracking ID is correlated withthe member ID. When the tracking ID is not correlated with the memberID, it can be assumed that a consumer whose member ID is notauthenticated performs the purchase behavior. Here, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 548, and proceeds to ACT 549.The integrated processing unit 67 outputs voice data for anauthentication error to the voice synthesizing unit 66 as ACT 549.Accordingly, the voice synthesizing unit 66 synthesizes a voice messageindicating the authentication error. The speaker 5 outputs, for example,a voice message such as “the member ID is not authenticated”. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 ends the purchase processing.

When the tracking ID is correlated with the member ID, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 548, and proceeds to ACT 550.The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the member ID correlated withthe tracking ID as ACT 550. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires asensor number from the decrease notification command as ACT 551. Thedecrease notification command is received from the commodity monitoringsensor 1 in ACT 523 of FIG. 14.

The integrated processing unit 67 reads the commodity data including thecommodity code, the commodity name, and the unit weight stored togetherwith the sensor number from the commodity data file 61 as ACT 552. Theintegrated processing unit 67 calculates the number of purchases as ACT553. Specifically, the integrated processing unit 67 acquires a weightchange amount from the decrease notification command. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 divides the weight change amount by theunit weight. As a result, when a value of a first decimal point is “1”,the value is rounded down, and when the value thereof is “9”, the valueis rounded up, thereby calculating the number of purchases.

When the value of the first decimal point is “2” to “8”, the number ofpurchases cannot be calculated. Therefore, when the value of the firstdecimal point is “1” or “2”, the value is rounded down, and when thevalue thereof is “8” or “9”, the value is rounded up, such that thenumber of purchases may be calculated. Alternatively, when the weightchange amount cannot be divided by the unit weight, the number ofpurchases may not be calculated. Generally, each commodity is correctlydisplayed in the section of the shelf 10. Therefore, since the weightchange amount can be divided by the unit weight, the number of purchasescan be calculated.

The integrated processing unit 67 outputs the purchase notificationcommand to the sales management apparatus 7 as ACT 554. The purchasenotification command includes the member ID acquired in the processingof ACT 550, the commodity code, the commodity name, and the unit weightof the commodity data read in the processing of ACT 552, and the numberof purchases calculated in the processing of ACT 553. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 ends the purchase processing.

On the other hand, when there exist two or more target tracking files68, that is, when the number M of consumers staying in the purchase area112 is two or more, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO inACT 544, and proceeds to ACT 555. The integrated processing unit 67acquires the tracking location information of the movement datacorresponding to the current time from all the target tracking files 68as ACT 555.

As ACT 556, the integrated processing unit 67 counts the number N ofconsumers who can perform the purchase behavior based upon the trackinglocation information acquired from the target tracking file 68 and thebehavior location information stored in the processing of ACT 522 ofFIG. 14. Specifically, the integrated processing unit 67 determines, foreach target tracking file 68, whether the consumer at a locationspecified by the tracking location information can perform a behavior ofreaching out the hand and taking the commodity from a location specifiedby the behavior location information. Next, the integrated processingunit 67 counts the number of target tracking files 68 determined to becapable of performing the behavior of taking the commodity as the numberN of consumers who can perform the purchase behavior.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number N ofconsumers who can perform the purchase behavior is 0 as ACT 557. Whenthe number of persons N is 0, the integrated processing unit 67determines YES in ACT 557, and proceeds to ACT 543. The integratedprocessing unit 67 executes the processing of ACT 543 in the same manneras described above. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 ends thepurchase processing.

When the number N of consumers who can perform the purchase behavior isnot 0, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 557, andproceeds to ACT 558. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the number N of consumers who can perform the purchase behavioris one as ACT 558. When the number N of persons is one, it can bespecified that the one consumer performs the purchase behavior. Theintegrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 558, and proceeds toACT 547. The integrated processing unit 67 executes the processing ofACT 547 to ACT 554 in the same manner as described above. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 ends the purchase processing.

When the number N of consumers who can perform the purchase behavior istwo or more, the purchaser cannot be specified. The integratedprocessing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 558, and proceeds to ACT 559.The integrated processing unit 67 outputs voice data for a purchaseerror to the voice synthesizing unit 66 as ACT 559. Accordingly, thevoice synthesizing unit 66 synthesizes a voice message indicating thepurchase error. The speaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice message suchas “since the purchaser cannot be specified, an error occurred”. Next,the integrated processing unit 67 ends the purchase processing.

As such, the integrated processing unit 67 specifies one consumerstaying in the purchase area 112 as the purchaser of the commodity takenfrom the shelf 10 by executing the purchase processing with respect tothe purchase behavior of the consumer. Next, the integrated processingunit 67 transmits, to the sales management apparatus 7, the purchasenotification command including the member ID of the consumer specifiedas the purchaser and the purchased commodity data.

Next, an operation of the sales management apparatus 7 that receives thepurchase notification command will be described with reference to FIG.20.

The sales management apparatus 7 acquires the member ID from thepurchase notification command as ACT 701. The sales management apparatus7 generates the purchased commodity data based upon the data of thecommodity included in the purchase notification command, that is, thecommodity code, the commodity name, the unit price, and the number ofpurchases as ACT 702. Next, the sales management apparatus sets atemporary registration flag of the purchased commodity data to “0” asACT 703. The sales management apparatus 7 adds the purchased commoditydata to the purchase list 71 in which the member ID acquired in theprocessing of ACT 701 is set as ACT 704. As described above, the salesmanagement apparatus 7 ends the operation of the procedure illustratedin a flowchart of FIG. 20.

As described above, each time the sales management apparatus 7 receivesthe purchase notification command from the integrated processing unit67, the sales management apparatus 7 adds the purchased commodity datato the purchase list 71 in which the member ID included in the purchasenotification command is set. Here, the temporary registration flag ofthe purchased commodity data is “0”.

Here, the integrated processing unit 67 that executes the purchaseprocessing in cooperation with the tracking processing unit 62, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64, and the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65 has a function as a recognition unit for recognizingthe purchase behavior of the commodity by the consumer, a specificationunit for specifying the consumer who performs the purchase behavior, anda purchase processing unit. That is, when the purchase behavior of thecommodity is recognized and the consumer who performs the purchasebehavior is specified, the integrated processing unit 67 outputs, to thesales management apparatus 7, the purchase notification command foradding the data of the commodity to the purchase list of the consumer.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a main part of thereturn processing. When the return processing is started, the integratedprocessing unit 67 counts the number M of consumers staying in thepurchase area 112 as ACT 561. The integrated processing unit 67 countsthe number M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112 in the samemanner as the processing of ACT 541 of the purchase processing.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number M ofconsumers staying in the purchase area 112 is 0 as ACT 562. When thenumber of persons M is 0, the integrated processing unit 67 determinesYES in ACT 562, and proceeds to ACT 563. The integrated processing unit67 outputs voice data for a tracking error to the voice synthesizingunit 66 as ACT 563. Accordingly, the voice synthesizing unit 66synthesizes a voice message indicating the tracking error. The speaker 5outputs, for example, a voice message such as “an error occurred andshopping cannot be performed”. Next, the integrated processing unit 67ends the return processing.

When the number M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112 is not0, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 562, andproceeds to ACT 564. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the number M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112 is 1as ACT 564.

When the number M of consumers staying in the purchase area 112 is 1,the integrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 564, andproceeds to ACT 565. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires thetracking location information of the movement data corresponding to thecurrent time from the target tracking file 68 as ACT 565. As ACT 566,the integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the consumer beingtracked by the tracking ID described in the target tracking file 68 canperform the return behavior, based upon the tracking locationinformation and the behavior location information stored in theprocessing of ACT 522 of FIG. 14. Specifically, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines whether the consumer at a locationspecified by the tracking location information can perform a behavior ofreaching out the hand and returning the commodity from a locationspecified by the behavior location information. When the behavior ofreturning the commodity cannot be performed, the integrated processingunit 67 determines that the return behavior cannot be performed. In thatcase, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 566, andproceeds to ACT 563. The integrated processing unit 67 outputs the voicedata for the tracking error to the voice synthesizing unit 66 as ACT563. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 ends the return processing.

When the return behavior can be performed, the integrated processingunit 67 determines YES in ACT 566, and proceeds to ACT 567. Theintegrated processing unit 67 acquires a tracking ID from the targettracking file 68 as ACT 567. Next, the integrated processing unit 67retrieves the correlation table 69 as ACT 568 and determines whether thetracking ID is correlated with the member ID. When the tracking ID isnot correlated with the member ID, the integrated processing unit 67outputs voice data for an authentication error to the voice synthesizingunit 66 as ACT 569. Accordingly, the voice synthesizing unit 66synthesizes a voice message indicating the authentication error. Thespeaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice message such as “the member IDis not authenticated”. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 ends thereturn processing.

When the tracking ID is correlated with the member ID, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 568, and proceeds to ACT 570.The integrated processing unit 67 executes one-person processing as ACT570.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a main part of theone-person processing.

The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the member ID correlated withthe tracking ID as ACT 581. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires asensor number from the increase notification command as ACT 582. Theincrease notification command is received from the commodity monitoringsensor 1 in ACT 524 of FIG. 14.

The integrated processing unit 67 reads the commodity data including thecommodity code, the commodity name, and the unit weight stored togetherwith the sensor number from the commodity data file 61 as ACT 583. Theintegrated processing unit 67 calculates the number of returnedcommodities P as ACT 584. Specifically, the integrated processing unit67 acquires a weight change amount from the increase notificationcommand. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 divides the weightchange amount by the unit weight. As a result, when a value of a firstdecimal point is “1”, the value is rounded down, and when the valuethereof is “9”, the value is rounded up, thereby calculating the numberof returned commodities P.

When the value of the first decimal point is “2” to “8”, the number ofreturned commodities P cannot be calculated. Therefore, when the valueof the first decimal point is “1” or “2”, the value is rounded down, andwhen the value thereof is “8” or “9”, the value is rounded up, such thatthe number of returned commodities P may be calculated. Alternatively,when the weight change amount cannot be divided by the unit weight, thenumber of returned commodities P may not be calculated.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number ofreturned commodities P can be calculated as ACT 585. When the number ofreturned commodities P cannot be calculated, it is considered that theconsumer returns the commodity to a section of another commodity havinga different unit weight. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when thecommodity A having a unit weight of 500 grams is returned to the section203 in which the commodity C is displayed, quotient becomes 0.83 becausethe unit weight of the commodity C is 600 grams. In the same manner,when the commodity A is returned to the section 205 in which thecommodity E is displayed, quotient becomes 0.625 because the unit weightof the commodity E is 800 grams. Therefore, in either case, the numberof returned commodities P cannot be calculated.

When the number of returned commodities P cannot be calculated, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 585, and proceeds toACT 586. The integrated processing unit 67 outputs voice data for areturn error to the voice synthesizing unit 66 as ACT 586. Accordingly,the voice synthesizing unit 66 synthesizes a voice message indicatingthe return error. The speaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice messagesuch as “a place to which the commodity is returned is different”. Next,the integrated processing unit 67 ends the one-person processing.

When the number of returned commodities P can be calculated, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 585, and proceeds toACT 587. The integrated processing unit 67 outputs a request command forthe number of purchases to the sales management apparatus 7 as ACT 587.The request command for the number of purchases includes the member IDacquired in the processing of ACT 581 and the commodity code of thecommodity data acquired in the processing of ACT 583.

The sales management apparatus 7 that receives the request command forthe number of purchases detects the number of purchases Q stored incorrelation with the commodity code from the purchase list 71 in whichthe member ID is set, and responds to the integrated processing unit 67with the detected number of purchases Q. Here, when the purchase list 71does not store the data of the commodity code, the sales managementapparatus 7 responds thereto with “0” as the number of purchases Q.

The integrated processing unit 67 that outputs the request command forthe number of purchases waits for the response of the number ofpurchases Q as ACT 588. When the number of purchases Q is received, theintegrated processing unit 67 calculates a difference value R bysubtracting the number of returned commodities P from the number ofpurchases Q as ACT 589. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the difference value R is negative as ACT 590.

For example, it can be assumed that the consumer SA takes out thecommodity A from the shelf 10 but does not take out the commodity B ifthe purchase list 711 of the consumer SA stores the data of thecommodity A (the number of purchases=1), but does not store the data ofthe commodity B. Here, it can be assumed that the consumer SA mistakenlyreturns the commodity A to the section 202 of the commodity B. Since theunit weights of the commodity A and the commodity B are equal to eachother, the number of returned commodities P is calculated as “1”.However, since the purchase list 711 does not store the data of thecommodity B, the number of purchases Q is “0”. Therefore, the differencevalue R becomes “−1”. However, when the consumer SA returns thecommodity A to the section 201, the difference value R becomes “0”because the number of purchases Q is “1”.

When the difference value R is negative, the integrated processing unit67 determines YES in ACT 590, and proceeds to ACT 586. The integratedprocessing unit 67 outputs the voice data for the return error to thevoice synthesizing unit 66. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 endsthe one-person processing.

When the difference value R is “0” or “1” or more, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 590, and proceeds to ACT 591.The integrated processing unit 67 outputs the return notificationcommand to the sales management apparatus 7 as ACT 591. The returnnotification command includes the member ID acquired in the processingof ACT 581, the commodity code, the commodity name, and the unit weightof the commodity data read in the processing of ACT 583, and the numberof returned commodities P calculated in the processing of ACT 584. Next,the integrated processing unit 67 ends the one-person processing.

Referring back to the description of FIG. 16, when the number M ofconsumers staying in the purchase area 112 is two or more, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 564, and proceeds toACT 571. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the trackinglocation information of the movement data corresponding to the currenttime from all the target tracking files 68 as ACT 571. As ACT 572, theintegrated processing unit 67 counts the number N of consumers who canperform the return behavior based upon the tracking location informationacquired from the target tracking file 68 and the behavior locationinformation stored in ACT 522 of FIG. 14.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number N ofconsumers who can perform the return behavior is 0 as ACT 573. When thenumber of persons N is 0, the integrated processing unit 67 determinesYES in ACT 573, and proceeds to ACT 563. The integrated processing unit67 outputs the voice data for the tracking error to the voicesynthesizing unit 66 as ACT 563. Next, the integrated processing unit 67ends the return processing.

When the number N of consumers who can perform the return behavior isnot 0, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 573, andproceeds to ACT 574. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the number N of consumers who can perform the return behavior isone as ACT 574. When the number of persons N is one, the one consumercan be specified as a person returning the commodity. The integratedprocessing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 574, and proceeds to ACT 567.Next, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the processing of ACT567 to ACT 570 in the same manner as described above.

When the number N of consumers who can perform the return behavior istwo or more, the person returning the commodity cannot be specified. Theintegrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 574, and proceeds toACT 575. The integrated processing unit 67 executes processing of aplurality of persons as ACT 575.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a main part ofprocessing of the plurality of persons.

The integrated processing unit 67 acquires a sensor number from thereturn notification command as ACT 601. Next, the integrated processingunit 67 reads the commodity data including the commodity code, thecommodity name, and the unit weight stored together with the sensornumber from the commodity data file 61 as ACT 602. The integratedprocessing unit 67 calculates the number of returned commodities P asACT 603. The integrated processing unit 67 calculates the number ofreturned commodities P in the same manner as the processing of ACT 584of the one-person processing.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the number ofreturned commodities P can be calculated as ACT 604. When the number ofreturned commodities P cannot be calculated, the integrated processingunit 67 determines NO in ACT 604, and proceeds to ACT 605. Theintegrated processing unit 67 outputs voice data for a return error asACT 605 to the voice synthesizing unit 66. Accordingly, the voicesynthesizing unit 66 synthesizes a voice message indicating the returnerror. The speaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice message such as “aplace to which the commodity is returned is different”. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 ends the processing of the plurality ofpersons.

When the number of returned commodities P can be calculated, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 604, and proceeds toACT 606. The integrated processing unit 67 determines one of theconsumers N who can perform the return behavior in the purchase area 112as a person returning the commodity as ACT 606. For example, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines a consumer whose trackinglocation information is closest to a location of coordinates specifiedby the behavior location information as the person returning thecommodity. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires a member IDcorrelated with a tracking ID of the person returning the commodity asACT 607.

The integrated processing unit 67 outputs a request command for thenumber of purchases to the sales management apparatus 7 as ACT 608. Therequest command for the number of purchases includes the member IDacquired in the processing of ACT 607 and the commodity code of thecommodity data acquired in the processing of ACT 602.

As described above, the sales management apparatus 7 receiving therequest command for the number of purchases detects the number ofpurchases Q stored in correlation with the commodity code from thepurchase list 71 in which the member ID is set, and responds to theintegrated processing unit 67 with the detected number of purchases Q.

The integrated processing unit 67 waits for the response of the numberof purchases Q as ACT 609. When the number of purchases Q is received,the integrated processing unit 67 calculates the difference value R bysubtracting the number of returned commodities P from the number ofpurchases Q as ACT 610. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the difference value R is negative as ACT 611. When thedifference value R is “0” or “1” or more, the integrated processing unit67 determines NO in ACT 611, and proceeds to ACT 612. The integratedprocessing unit 67 outputs the return notification command to the salesmanagement apparatus 7 as ACT 612. Next, the integrated processing unit67 ends the processing of the plurality of persons.

When the difference value R is negative, the integrated processing unit67 determines YES in ACT 611, and proceeds to ACT 613. The integratedprocessing unit 67 determines whether the number N of consumers who canperform the return behavior is two as ACT 613. When the number ofpersons N is 2, the integrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT613, and proceeds to ACT 614.

When the difference value R is negative, the consumer determined as theperson returning the commodity in the processing of ACT 606 is not theperson returning the commodity. Therefore, when there are two candidatesfor the person returning the commodity, the other person is determinedas the person returning the commodity. That is, the integratedprocessing unit 67 acquires a member ID correlated with a tracking ID ofthe other consumer as ACT 614. Next, the integrated processing unit 67outputs the request command for the number of purchases to the salesmanagement apparatus 7 as ACT 615. The request command for the number ofpurchases includes the member ID acquired in the processing of ACT 614and the commodity code of the commodity data acquired in the processingof ACT 602.

As described above, the sales management apparatus 7 receiving therequest command for the number of purchases detects the number ofpurchases Q stored in correlation with the commodity code from thepurchase list 71 in which the member ID is set, and responds to theintegrated processing unit 67.

The integrated processing unit 67 waits for a response of the number ofpurchases Q as ACT 616. When the number of purchases Q is received, theintegrated processing unit 67 calculates the difference value R bysubtracting the number of returned commodities P from the number ofpurchases Q as ACT 617. The integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the difference value R is negative as ACT 618. When thedifference value R is “0” or “1” or more, the integrated processing unit67 determines NO in ACT 618, and proceeds to ACT 612. The integratedprocessing unit 67 outputs the return notification command to the salesmanagement apparatus 7 as ACT 612. Next, the integrated processing unit67 ends the processing of the plurality of persons.

When the difference value R is negative, the integrated processing unit67 determines YES in ACT 618, and proceeds to ACT 605. The integratedprocessing unit 67 outputs the voice data for the return error to thevoice synthesizing unit 66 as ACT 605. Next, the integrated processingunit 67 ends the processing of the plurality of persons.

When the number N of consumers who can perform the return behavior isthree or more, the person returning the commodity cannot be specified.The integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 613, and proceedsto ACT 619. The integrated processing unit 67 acquires member IDs of allthe consumers who can perform the return behavior as ACT 619. Next, theintegrated processing unit 67 outputs a temporary return notificationcommand to the sales management apparatus 7 as ACT 620. The temporaryreturn notification command includes all the member IDs acquired in theprocessing of ACT 619, the commodity code, the commodity name, and theunit weight of the commodity data read in the processing of ACT 602, andthe number of returned commodities P calculated in the processing of ACT603.

The integrated processing unit 67 outputs voice data indicating thatcommodity returning registration is performed as temporary registrationto the voice synthesizing unit 66 as ACT 621. Accordingly, the voicesynthesizing unit 66 synthesizes the voice data indicating that thecommodity returning registration is performed as the temporaryregistration. The speaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice message suchas “data of the returned commodity is temporarily registered. Pleasetell the clerk”. Next, the integrated processing unit 67 ends theprocessing of the plurality of persons.

As such, when the one-person processing or the processing of theplurality of persons is ended, the integrated processing unit 67 endsthe return processing.

As such, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the returnprocessing with respect to the return behavior of the consumer, therebyspecifying one consumer staying in the purchase area 112 as the personreturning the commodity who returns the commodity to the shelf 10. Next,the integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the consumerspecified as the person returning the commodity purchases the commodityreturned to the shelf, that is, the returned commodity. When theconsumer purchases the returned commodity, that is, when the differencevalue R obtained by subtracting the number of returned commodities Pfrom the number of purchases Q is 0 or more, the integrated processingunit 67 transmits, to the sales management apparatus 7, the returnnotification command including the member ID of the consumer specifiedas the person returning the commodity and the data of the returnedcommodity.

On the other hand, when the consumer does not purchase the returnedcommodity, that is, when the difference value R obtained by subtractingthe number of returned commodities P from the number of purchases Qbecomes negative, the integrated processing unit 67 notifies the returnerror.

When there are two consumers staying in the purchase area 112 and it isdetermined that a first consumer, who is a first person, does notpurchase the returned commodity, it is determined whether a secondconsumer, who is another person, purchases the returned commodity. Next,when the second consumer purchases the returned commodity, that is, whenthe difference value R obtained by subtracting the number of returnedcommodities P from the number of purchases Q is 0 or more, theintegrated processing unit 67 transmits, to the sales managementapparatus 7, the return notification command including the member ID ofthe second consumer and the data of the returned commodity.

On the other hand, when the second consumer also does not purchase thereturned commodity, that is, when the difference value R obtained bysubtracting the number of returned commodities P from the number ofpurchases Q becomes negative, the integrated processing unit 67 notifiesthe return error.

When there are three or more consumers in the purchase area 112, theintegrated processing unit 67 transmits, to the sales managementapparatus 7, the temporary return notification command including themember ID of each consumer and the data of the returned commodity.

Next, an operation of the sales management apparatus that receives thereturn notification command or the temporary return notification commandwill be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the salesmanagement apparatus 7 that receives the return notification command.The sales management apparatus 7 acquires the member ID from the returnnotification command as ACT 711. The sales management apparatus 7generates the data of the returned commodity based upon the commoditydata included in the return notification command, that is, the commoditycode, the commodity name, the unit price, and the number of returnedcommodities P as ACT 712. The data of the returned commodity is obtainedby replacing the number of purchases of the purchased commodity datawith the number of returned commodities P.

As ACT 713, the sales management apparatus 7 selects the purchasedcommodity data whose commodity code matches the returned commodity datafrom the purchase list 71 in which the member ID acquired in theprocessing of ACT 701 is set. Next, as ACT 714, the sales managementapparatus 7 subtracts the number of returned commodities P of thereturned commodity data from the number of purchases of the selectedpurchased commodity data. As described above, the sales managementapparatus 7 ends the operation of the procedure illustrated in theflowchart of FIG. 21.

As such, when the sales management apparatus 7 receives the returnnotification command from the integrated processing unit 67, the numberof purchases of the purchased commodity data related to the returnedcommodity of the purchase list 71 in which the member ID included in thereturn notification command is set is subtracted by the number ofreturned commodities P. Here, the temporary registration flag of thepurchased commodity data after the number of purchases is subtracted is“0”.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the salesmanagement apparatus 7 that receives a temporary registrationnotification command. The sales management apparatus 7 generates a listof member IDs included in the temporary registration notificationcommand as ACT 721. Hereinafter, the list is referred to as a member IDlist. The sales management apparatus 7 counts the number V of member IDsincluded in the member ID list as ACT 722. The sales managementapparatus 7 resets an addition counter W to “0” as ACT 723. Next, thesales management apparatus 7 counts up the addition counter W by “1” asACT 724. Next, the sales management apparatus 7 determines whether theaddition counter W exceeds the number V as ACT 725.

When the addition counter W does not exceed the number V, the salesmanagement apparatus 7 acquires the W-th member ID from the member IDlist as ACT 726. The W-th “W” is a value of the addition counter W. Thesales management apparatus 7 subtracts the commodity data included inthe temporary return notification command from the purchase list 71 inwhich the W-th member ID is set. Specifically, when purchased commoditydata of a commodity code included in the temporary return notificationcommand exits in the purchase list 71, the sales management apparatus 7subtracts the number of purchases of the purchased commodity data by thenumber of returned commodities P included in the temporary returnnotification command. When the purchased commodity data of the commoditycode does not exist in the purchase list 71, the sales managementapparatus 7 generates the purchased commodity data based upon thecommodity code, the commodity name, the unit price, and the number ofreturned commodities P included in the purchase notification command.Here, the number of returned commodities P is included in the purchasedcommodity data as the negative number of purchases. The sales managementapparatus 7 adds the purchased commodity data to the purchase list 71.

As ACT 728, the sales management apparatus 7 sets the temporaryregistration flag of the purchased commodity data obtained bysubtracting the number of returned commodities P from the number ofpurchases or the purchased commodity data including the negative numberof purchases to “1”. The sales management apparatus 7 sets a member IDof another person registered in the member ID list in another member IDarea of the purchased commodity data as ACT 729.

After that, the sales management apparatus 7 returns to the processingof ACT 724. The sales management apparatus 7 further counts up theaddition counter W by “1”. When it is determined that the additioncounter W does not exceed the number V, the sales management apparatus 7executes the processing of ACT 726 to ACT 729 again.

As such, the sales management apparatus 7 repeatedly executes theprocessing of ACT 724 to ACT 729 until the addition counter W exceedsthe number V. When the addition counter W exceeds the number V, thesales management apparatus 7 determines YES in ACT 725 and proceeds toACT 730. The sales management apparatus 7 clears the member ID list. Asdescribed above, the sales management apparatus 7 ends the receptionprocessing of the temporary return notification command.

As described above, when the sales management apparatus 7 receives thetemporary registration notification command from the integratedprocessing unit 67, the data of the returned commodity is subtractedfrom each purchase list 71 in which all the member IDs included in thetemporary registration notification command are set. With respect to thepurchased commodity data in which the data of the returned commodity issubtracted, the temporary registration flag becomes “1”.

Here, the integrated processing unit 67 that executes the returnprocessing in cooperation with the tracking processing unit 62, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64, and the behavior monitoringprocessing unit 65 has a function of a recognition unit for recognizinga return behavior of a commodity by a consumer, a specification unit forspecifying the consumer who performs the return behavior, a returnprocessing unit, and an abnormal time processing unit. That is, when thereturn behavior of the commodity is recognized and the consumer whoperforms the return behavior is specified, the integrated processingunit 67 outputs the return notification command for subtracting the dataof the commodity from the purchase list 71 of the consumer to the salesmanagement apparatus 7. However, when the data of the purchase list 71becomes an abnormal value by subtracting the data of the commodity fromthe purchase list 71, the integrated processing unit 67 does not outputthe return notification command. The integrated processing unit 67executes abnormal time processing.

Specifically, when the difference value R between the number ofpurchases Q and the number of returned commodities P is negative, thatis, the number of purchases after subtracting the number of returnedcommodities P becomes negative, the data in the purchase list 71 becomesthe abnormal value. When determining YES in ACT 590 of the one-personprocessing, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the processing ofACT 586. That is, when the second consumer who performs the returnbehavior other than the first consumer specified by the specificationunit is not specified, the integrated processing unit 67 executesprocessing of notifying a mistake of a return location as the abnormaltime processing.

When determining YES in ACT 611 of the processing of the plurality ofpersons and further determining YES in ACT 613, the integratedprocessing unit 67 executes the processing of ACT 614 to ACT 618. Then,when determining NO in ACT 618, the integrated processing unit 67executes the processing of ACT 612. That is, when only one secondconsumer is specified, the integrated processing unit 67 determineswhether the data of the purchase list 71 becomes the abnormal value bysubtracting the data of the commodity from the purchase list 71 of thesecond consumer. When the value does not become the abnormal value, theintegrated processing unit 67 executes the processing of subtracting thedata of the commodity from the purchase list of the second consumer asthe abnormal time processing.

When determining NO in ACT 613 of the processing of the plurality ofpersons, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the processing ofACT 619 to ACT 621. That is, when a plurality of second consumers arespecified, the integrated processing unit 67 executes processing ofsubtracting the data of the commodity from the purchase list 71 of eachsecond consumer in cooperation with the sales management apparatus 7,and of indicating that the subtracted data is temporary data as theabnormal time processing.

Next, an operation of the integrated processing unit 67 to which theexit notification command is inputted will be described with referenceto a flowchart of FIG. 19.

The integrated processing unit 67 acquires a tracking ID from the exitnotification command as ACT 631. The integrated processing unit 67retrieves the correlation table 69 and determines whether the trackingID is correlated with a member ID as ACT 632. When the member ID is notcorrelated therewith, a consumer managed by the tracking ID is aconsumer who exits the store without performing the personalauthentication. Therefore, the integrated processing unit 67 determinesNO in ACT 632, and ends the processing.

When the member ID is correlated with the tracking ID, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 632, and proceeds to ACT 633.The integrated processing unit 67 acquires the member ID correlated withthe tracking ID as ACT 633. Next, the integrated processing unit 67requests the sales management apparatus 7 to confirm the purchase list71 in which the member ID is set as ACT 634.

In response to the confirmation request, the sales management apparatus7 determines whether there is purchased commodity data in which thetemporary registration flag is set to “1” in the purchase list 71 inwhich the member ID is set. Hereinafter, the purchased commodity data inwhich the temporary registration flag is set to “1” is referred to astemporary purchased commodity data. Next, the sales management apparatus7 responds to the integrated processing unit 67 with a confirmationresult.

The integrated processing unit 67 determines whether the temporarypurchased commodity data exists in the purchase list 71 in which themember ID is set as ACT 635. When the temporary purchased commodity datadoes not exist, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT635, and proceeds to ACT 636. The integrated processing unit 67 outputsa settlement permission notification command to the sales managementapparatus 7 as ACT 636. The settlement permission notification commandincludes the member ID acquired in the processing of ACT 633.

On the other hand, when the temporary purchased commodity data exists,the integrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 635, andproceeds to ACT 637. The integrated processing unit 67 outputs asettlement confirmation notification command to the sales managementapparatus 7 as ACT 637. The settlement confirmation notification commandincludes the member ID acquired in the processing of ACT 633.

When outputting the settlement permission notification command or thesettlement confirmation notification command, the integrated processingunit 67 ends the operation of the procedure illustrated in the flowchartof FIG. 19.

As such, when the exit notification command is inputted, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines that there is a settlement instruction.Next, the integrated processing unit 67 outputs a settlement permissionnotification to the sales management apparatus 7, with respect to aconsumer whose purchased commodity data whose temporary registrationflag is “1” is not registered in the purchase list 71. On the otherhand, the integrated processing unit 67 outputs a settlementconfirmation notification to the sales management apparatus 7, withrespect to a consumer whose purchased commodity data whose temporaryregistration flag is “1” is registered in the purchase list 71.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the sales managementapparatus 7 that receives the settlement permission notificationcommand. The sales management apparatus 7 acquires a member ID from thesettlement permission notification command as ACT 741. The salesmanagement apparatus 7 selects the purchase list 71 in which the memberID is set as ACT 742. The sales management apparatus 7 requestsinformation related to settlement registered by a consumer to beidentified by the member ID from the member server 8 as ACT 743.

In response to the request, the member server 8 retrieves the memberdatabase 81, acquires the information related to the settlementregistered by the consumer, and responds to the sales managementapparatus 7.

The sales management apparatus 7 waits for a response of the informationrelated to the settlement as ACT 744. When there is the response of theinformation related to the settlement from the member server 8, thesales management apparatus 7 determines YES in ACT 744, and proceeds toACT 745. As ACT 745, the sales management apparatus 7 outputs thepurchased commodity data registered in the purchase list 71 to thesettlement server 9 together with the information related to thesettlement, and requests settlement. In response to the request, thesettlement server 9 executes settlement processing. For example, whenthe information related to the settlement is information related to cardsettlement of a credit card, the settlement processing of the creditcard is executed. For example, when the information related to thesettlement is information necessary for electronic settlement using abarcode and a two-dimensional code, settlement processing by theelectronic settlement is executed. As described above, the salesmanagement apparatus 7 ends the processing with respect to thesettlement permission notification command.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the sales managementapparatus 7 that receives the settlement confirmation notificationcommand. The sales management apparatus 7 acquires a member ID from thesettlement confirmation notification command as ACT 751. The salesmanagement apparatus 7 selects the purchase list 71 in which the memberID is set as ACT 752. The sales management apparatus 7 requestsinformation related to the user terminal TM of a consumer to beidentified by the member ID from the member server 8 as ACT 753.

In response to the request, the member server 8 retrieves the memberdatabase 81, acquires terminal information registered by the consumer,and responds to the sales management apparatus 7.

The sales management apparatus 7 waits for a response of the terminalinformation as ACT 754. When there is the response of the terminalinformation from the member server 8, the sales management apparatus 7determines YES in ACT 754, and proceeds to ACT 755. As ACT 755, thesales management apparatus 7 communicates with the user terminal TM tobe specified by the terminal information, and requests confirmation ofthe number of purchases of the temporary purchased commodity data.

In response to the confirmation request, the commodity name and thenumber of purchases of the temporary purchased commodity data aredisplayed on a touch panel of the user terminal TM. The consumerdetermines whether he or she purchases the displayed commodity by thenumber of purchases. When purchasing the displayed commodity by thenumber of purchases, the consumer performs an operation for notifyingthe sales management apparatus 7 that the number of purchases iscorrect. When the displayed commodity is not purchased by the consumeror when the number of purchases is different, the consumer corrects thenumber of purchases. That is, when not purchasing the displayedcommodity, the consumer sets the number of purchases to “0”. When thenumber of purchases is incorrect, the consumer corrects the incorrectnumber of purchases to the correct number of purchases.

As ACT 756, the sales management apparatus 7 waits for a notificationindicating that the number of purchases is correct or waits for thenumber of purchases to be corrected. When the number of purchases iscorrected, the sales management apparatus 7 determines NO in ACT 756,and proceeds to ACT 757. The sales management apparatus 7 corrects thepurchase list 71 as ACT 757. Specifically, the sales managementapparatus 7 changes the number of purchases of the correspondingpurchased commodity data to the corrected number of purchases, and setsthe temporary registration flag to “0”. Thereafter, the sales managementapparatus 7 proceeds to the processing of ACT 743 in FIG. 23. Next, thesales management apparatus 7 executes the processing of ACT 743 to ACT745 in the same manner as described above.

When there is the notification indicating that the number of purchasesis correct, the sales management apparatus 7 determines YES in ACT 756,and proceeds to ACT 758. The sales management apparatus 7 sets thetemporary registration flag of the corresponding purchased commoditydata to “0” as ACT 758. The sales management apparatus 7 acquiresanother member ID of the corresponding purchased commodity data as ACT759. The sales management apparatus 7 corrects the purchase list 71 inwhich the another member ID is set as ACT 760. Specifically, the salesmanagement apparatus 7 returns the purchased commodity data whosetemporary registration flag is registered in the purchase list 71 of theanother member to a state before the temporary registration flag is setto “1”. Next, the sales management apparatus 7 sets the temporaryregistration flag to “0”. Thereafter, the sales management apparatus 7proceeds to the processing of ACT 743 in FIG. 23. The sales managementapparatus 7 executes the processing of ACT 743 to ACT 745 in the samemanner as described above.

Here, the integrated processing unit 67 has a function as a settlementcontrol unit in cooperation with the sales management apparatus 7. Thatis, the integrated processing unit 67 determines, to the salesmanagement apparatus 7, whether the temporary purchased commodity dataexists in the purchase list 71 of the consumer in response to thesettlement instruction. When the data shown as the temporary data, thatis, the temporary purchased commodity data does not exist, theintegrated processing unit 67 outputs the settlement permissionnotification to the sales management apparatus 7. Accordingly, the dataof the purchase list is transmitted from the sales management apparatus7 to the settlement server 9, and the settlement processing is executed.

On the other hand, when the temporary purchased commodity data exists,the integrated processing unit 67 outputs the settlement confirmationnotification to the sales management apparatus 7. Accordingly, the salesmanagement apparatus 7 executes processing of causing the consumer toconfirm the number of purchases of the temporary purchased commoditydata. When the confirmation of the number of purchases is completed, thedata of the purchase list is transmitted from the sales managementapparatus 7 to the settlement server 9, and the settlement processing isexecuted.

As described above, the operation description of the store system 100 isfinished.

The store system 100 of the embodiment can provide the followingoperational effects.

First, when the consumer SA returns the commodity A to the shelf 10, itcan be assumed that the consumer SA mistakenly returns the commodity Ato the section 203 of the commodity C having a different unit weight.Here, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT 585 of theone-person processing illustrated in FIG. 17.

Alternatively, the integrated processing unit 67 determines NO in ACT604 of the processing of the plurality of persons illustrated in FIG.18. As a result, the speaker 5 outputs, for example, the voice messagesuch as “a place to which the commodity is returned is different”.Generally, it is possible to easily identify a mistake of returning acommodity to a section of another commodity having a different unitweight.

Next, it can be assumed that the consumer SA returns the commodity A tothe section 202 of the commodity B having the same unit weight, theprocessing is divided by the number of consumers who can perform thereturn behavior in the purchase area 112. When the number of persons isone, the integrated processing unit 67 executes the processing of ACT587 to ACT 590 of the one-person processing illustrated in FIG. 17.Here, when it can be assumed that the consumer SA does not purchase thecommodity B, the difference value R calculated in ACT 589 becomesnegative. As a result, the integrated processing unit 67 determines YESin ACT 590, and the speaker 5 outputs, for example, a voice messagesaying as “a place to which the commodity is returned is different”.Therefore, it is possible to easily identify a mistake of returning acommodity to a section of another commodity having the same unit weight.

On the other hand, when there is the consumer SB in addition to theconsumer SA as a consumer who can perform the return behavior, theintegrated processing unit 67 executes the processing of ACT 606 to ACT618 of the processing of the plurality of persons illustrated in FIG.18. Here, when it can be assumed that neither consumer SA nor consumerSB purchases the commodity B, the difference values R calculated in ACT610 and ACT 618 are both negative. As a result, the integratedprocessing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 618, and the speaker 5 outputs,for example, a voice message such as “a place to which the commodity isreturned is different”. Therefore, it is possible to easily identify amistake of returning a commodity to a section of another commodityhaving the same unit weight.

Next, when there are the consumer SA and the consumer SB as consumerswho can perform the return behavior, it can be assumed that the consumerSB performs the return behavior of returning the commodity B to thesection 202. When the consumer SA is closer to the section 202 than theconsumer SB, in the integrated processing unit 67, the consumer SA isfirst specified as the person returning the commodity in ACT 606 of theprocessing of the plurality of persons. But since the consumer SA didnot previously purchase any of commodity B, the integrated processingunit 67 determines YES in ACT 611 of the processing of the plurality ofpersons, also determines YES in ACT 613, and thus proceeds to ACT 614.In ACT 614, the consumer SB is specified as the person returning thecommodity. As a result, since NO is determined in ACT 618, the returnnotification command is outputted to the sales management apparatus 7.Thus, the purchased commodity data for the commodity B is subtractedfrom the purchase list 712 of the consumer SB by the number of returnedcommodities.

Next, when there are the consumer SA, the consumer SB, and a consumer SCas consumers who can perform the return behavior, it can be assumed thatthe consumer SB performs the return behavior of returning the commodityB, which is only item purchased, to the section 202. Here, since theconsumer SA is closest to the section 202, in the integrated processingunit 67, the consumer SA is first specified as the person returning thecommodity in ACT 606 of the processing of the plurality of persons. Butif the consumer SA does not previously purchase the commodity B, theintegrated processing unit 67 determines YES in ACT 611 of theprocessing of the plurality of persons, determines No in ACT 613, andexecutes the processing of ACT 619 to ACT 621. As a result, thepurchased commodity data in which the number of purchases of thecommodity B is “−1” is temporarily registered in the purchase list 711of the consumer SA. In the purchase list 712 of the consumer SB, thepurchased commodity data in which the number of purchases of thecommodity B becomes “0” is temporarily registered. When it is assumedthat the consumer SC previously purchased two commodities B, which isreflected in the purchase list 713 of the consumer SC, the purchasedcommodity data in which the number of purchases of the commodity Bbecomes “1” is temporarily registered.

After that, for example, if it is assumed that the consumer SA goes outof the tracking area 111 before the others, then a screen fordetermining whether the number of purchases of the commodity B is “−1”is displayed on the user terminal TM of the consumer SA. Here, since theactual number of purchases is “0”, the consumer SA corrects the numberof purchases to “0”. In the settlement server 9, the settlementprocessing is executed based upon the data of the purchase list 711 inwhich the number of purchases is corrected.

If it is assumed that the consumer SB next goes out of the tracking area111, a screen for determining whether the number of purchases of thecommodity B is “0” is displayed on the user terminal TM of the consumerSB. Here, since the actual number of purchases is “0”, the consumer SBdoes not correct the number of purchases. In the settlement server 9,the settlement processing is executed based upon the data of thepurchase list 712. Thus, the number of purchases of the purchasedcommodity data of the commodity B stored in the purchase list 713 of theconsumer SC is returned from “1” to “2”. The temporary registration flagof the purchased commodity data becomes “0”. Therefore, after that, whenthe consumer SC goes out of the tracking area 111, in the settlementserver 9, the settlement processing is executed based upon the data ofthe purchase list 713.

As described above, according to the embodiment, it is possible to findinconsistency between a commodity actually purchased by a consumer and acommodity registered as a purchased commodity for the consumer beforesettlement.

A modification of the embodiment will be described.

The tracking processing unit 62 analyzes the image data fetched from thetracking sensors 21 and 22 and tracks the movement of the consumerstaying in the tracking area 111. The tracking processing unit 62 maytrack the movement of the consumer based upon information from areceiver that receives a beacon transmitted from a transmitter carriedby the consumer.

The personal authentication processing unit 63 may authenticate aconsumer by biometric authentication. Here, the personal authenticationdevices 41 and 42 become devices that read biometric information such asa face, an iris, and a fingerprint.

The commodity monitoring processing unit 64 may monitor the movement ofa commodity from an image photographed by a camera. Here, it is possibleto detect that the commodity is returned to a wrong place based uponsimilarity between the image of the commodity photographed by the cameraand an image of the commodity set in advance.

The commodity monitoring sensor 1 may detect an increase or a decreasein the number of commodities displayed. Here, when the data of thenumber thereof from the commodity monitoring sensor 1 decreases, thecommodity monitoring processing unit 64 recognizes that the commodity istaken from a section in which the commodity monitoring sensor 1 isprovided. When the data of the number thereof from the commoditymonitoring sensor 1 increases, the commodity monitoring processing unit64 recognizes that the commodity is placed in the section where thecommodity monitoring sensor 1 is provided.

An image processing unit may be adopted instead of the voicesynthesizing unit 66, and the notification may be performed bydisplaying an image. Alternatively, the notification may be performed byusing a voice message and the image together.

The embodiment describes the case in which the integrated processingunit 67 executes the processing of the procedure illustrated in theflowchart of FIG. 19 in response to the exit notification command.Accordingly, when the integrated processing unit 67 receives thesettlement notification command including the member ID from the POSterminal connected to the communication network, the integratedprocessing unit 67 may execute the processing after ACT 632 in FIG. 19.

The embodiment describes the shelf control apparatus 6 as a controldevice of the POS system. The control device is not limited to the shelfcontrol apparatus 6 having the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3. Forexample, the control device may be configured by connecting a firstcomputer apparatus including the tracking processing unit 62, thepersonal authentication processing unit 63, the commodity monitoringprocessing unit 64, and the behavior monitoring processing unit 65, anda second computer apparatus including the integrated processing unit 67and the voice synthesizing unit 66 by using the communication network.Alternatively, the first computer apparatus may be further subdivided,or the voice synthesizing unit 66 may be excluded from the secondcomputer apparatus.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tracking-based point-of-sales (POS) system,comprising: a first sensing device configured to obtain locationinformation of one or more customers around a product display sectionassociated with a product identified with a product ID; a second sensingdevice configured to detect a product displacement activity and aproduct placement activity at the product display section; and aprocessing device configured to: perform location tracking with respectto the one or more customers around the product display section based onthe obtained location information; upon the second sensing devicedetecting the product displacement activity, perform a first operationto determine a purchasing customer who has performed the productdisplacement activity based on a result of the location tracking, andperform a product registration to register the product of a first numberto a purchase list of the purchasing customer; upon the second sensingdevice detecting the product placement activity, perform a secondoperation to determine a product-returning customer who has performedthe product placement activity based on a result of the locationtracking, and perform a product deregistration to deregister the productof a second number from a purchase list of the product-returningcustomer; and upon the product deregistration causing less than zero ofthe product to be on the purchase list of the product-returningcustomer, perform an anomaly operation.
 2. The tracking-based POS systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the anomaly operation includes generatinga signal to notify a product return at a wrong location.
 3. Thetracking-based POS system according to claim 2, wherein the signal is avoice message.
 4. The tracking-based POS system according to claim 1,wherein the processing device is configured to, during the secondoperation: determine a number of nearby customers who are in apredetermined area set around the product display section based on aresult of the location tracking; and upon determining that the number ofnearby customers is one, determine the nearby customer to be theproduct-returning customer.
 5. The tracking-based POS system accordingto claim 4, wherein the processing device is configured to, during thesecond operation: upon determining that the number of nearby customersis two or more, determine, among the nearby customers, a number ofpotential customers who are at locations where it is physically possibleto perform the detected product placement activity based on a result ofthe location tracking and a position of the product placement activity;and upon determining that the number of potential customers is one,determine the potential customer to be the product-returning customer.6. The tracking-based POS system according to claim 4, wherein theprocessing device is configured to, during the second operation: upondetermining that the number of potential customers is two or more,determine a selected one of the potential customers to be theproduct-returning customer.
 7. The tracking-based POS system accordingto claim 6, wherein when the product deregistration causes the number ofthe product on the purchase list of the selected one of the potentialcustomers to be less than zero and the number of potential customers istwo, the anomaly operation includes selecting the other one of thepotential customers and performing the product deregistration withrespect to a purchase list of the other one of the potential customers.8. The tracking-based POS system according to claim 6, wherein when theproduct deregistration causes the number of the product on the purchaselist of the selected one of the potential customers to be less than zeroand the number of potential customers is three or more, the anomalyoperation includes performing a temporary product deregistration withrespect to a purchase list of all of the potential customers other thanthe selected one of the potential customers.
 9. The tracking-based POSsystem according to claim 8, wherein the processing device is furtherconfigured to receive a confirmation of the temporary productderegistration from one of the other potential customers other than theselected one of the potential customers, and upon receiving theconfirmation, invalidate the temporary product deregistration for thepotential customers other than the selected one of the potentialcustomers and the one with the confirmation.
 10. The tracking-based POSsystem according to claim 8, wherein the processing device is furtherconfigured to receive a disconfirmation of the temporary productderegistration from one of the other potential customers other than theselected one of the potential customers, and upon receiving thedisconfirmation, modify the purchase list of the one of the otherpotential customers.
 11. The tracking-based POS system according toclaim 1, wherein the first sensing device includes a camera configuredto capture images around the product display section.
 12. Thetracking-based POS system according to claim 1, wherein the secondsensing device includes a camera configured to capture images of theproduct display section and a weight scale on which the product isdisplayed at the product display section, and the second sensing devicedetects the product displacement activity based on a hand movement toand then from the product display section in the captured images and adecrease of a weight detected by the weight scale, and detects theproduct placement activity based on a hand movement to and then from theproduct display section in the captured images and an increase of theweight detected by the weight scale.
 13. The tracking-based POS systemaccording to claim 12, wherein the processing device is furtherconfigured to determine the first number based on an amount of thedecrease and the second number based on an amount of the increase.
 14. Amethod for performing product registration, the method comprising:obtaining location information of one or more customers around a productdisplay section associated with a product identified with a product ID;performing location tracking with respect to the one or more customersaround the product display section based on the obtained locationinformation; detecting a product displacement activity at the productdisplay section; upon detecting the product displacement activity,performing a first operation to determine a purchasing customer who hasperformed the product displacement activity based on a result of thelocation tracking, and performing a product registration to register theproduct of a first number to a purchase list of the purchasing customer;detecting a product placement activity at the product display section;upon detecting the product placement activity, performing a secondoperation to determine a product-returning customer who has performedthe product placement activity based on a result of the locationtracking, and performing a product deregistration to deregister theproduct of a second number from a purchase list of the product-returningcustomer; and upon the product deregistration causing a negative numberof the product on the purchase list of the product-returning customer,performing an anomaly operation.
 15. The method according to claim 14,wherein the second operation includes: determining a number of nearbycustomers who are in a predetermined area set around the product displaysection based on a result of the location tracking; and when the numberof nearby customers is one, determining the nearby customer to be theproduct-returning customer.
 16. The method according to claim 15,wherein the second operation includes: when the number of nearbycustomers is two or more, determining, among the nearby customers, anumber of potential customers who are at locations where it isphysically possible to perform the detected product placement activitybased on a result of the location tracking and a position of the productplacement activity; and when the number of potential customers is one,determining the potential customer to be the product-returning customer.17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second operationincludes: when the number of potential customers is two or more,determining a selected one of the potential customers to be theproduct-returning customer.
 18. The method according to claim 17,wherein when the product deregistration causes the negative number ofthe product on the purchase list of the selected one of the potentialcustomers and the number of potential customers is two, the anomalyoperation includes selecting the other one of the potential customersand performing the product deregistration with respect to a purchaselist of the other one of the potential customers.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein when the product deregistration causesthe negative number of the product on the purchase list of the selectedone of the potential customers and the number of potential customers isthree or more, the anomaly operation includes performing a temporaryproduct deregistration with respect to a purchase list of all of thepotential customers other than the selected one of the potentialcustomers.
 20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:receiving a confirmation of the temporary product deregistration fromone of the potential customers other than the selected one of thepotential customers; and upon receiving the confirmation, invalidatingthe temporary product deregistration for all of the potential customersother than the selected one of the potential customers and the one withthe confirmation.